Marble Artisans of Agra

As I mentioned in the Taj Mahal post, many of the artisans who built the Taj some 400 years ago, remained in Agra and made it their home.  Their descendants remain there today, doing maintenance and ongoing repairs at the Taj, and several run very nice marble shops where they make marble artwork for tourists.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The farthest gentleman is the Uncle of the young man who greeted me at the U. P. Marble Crafts Palace.  There are several fellows who inlay the semi-precious stones into marble at U. P., but "Uncle" is the uber craftsman. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The grinding wheels are hand-powered, as they would have been 400 years ago, put into motion as the craftsman draws a bow and cord back and forth.  Each of the blue flowers below is made up of 17 pieces of fine inlaid stone, each piece of which is shaped by hand, with hands, on the rotating wheels, piece by painstaking piece.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

First, the marble piece is cut and smoothed, prepared for the inlays.  It is stained with henna, later to be removed, so that the craftsman can see the places on the stone that he has etched, and the places around each inlay where he has marked the inlay, and will later carve out the setting place.  He then carefully glues (with removable, water-based glue) the stone to be inlaid onto the marble, so he can mark around them.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Having marked around the inlay, he removes the temporary glue and the stones.  Using his marks, he uses a fine chisel to cut a space just deep enough to inlay the stones.  Carefully, painstakingly, he takes each of the inlays, piece by piece, and glues it permanently into the depressed areas.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Then, a smooth piece of sandstone is rubbed across the inlays, removing the henna and smoothing the surface, making the inlays nicely flush with the surface of the marble.  The young man showed me a piece of the Uncle's finished work...exceedingly smooth, beautiful !

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 ...a finished piece.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 ...a showroom full of finished pieces...table tops, plates, platters, vases, all sorts of art.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Lights are set up under several items, to show their translucent properties.  As the young man speaks, his younger brother switches on and off the room and product lights in a routine perfectly timed to the young man's description of the various items.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 Of course, it's India, so they must have elephants !

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I brought home a plate, a little smaller than this table top, but of similar color and pattern.  As we saw at the Taj, octagonal symmetry is prized in Muslim art, which governed the design of the Taj.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 So many items, so many shapes and sizes...

  

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 The young man and his younger brother.

 

If you visit the Taj Mahal,
stop in and see my friends at the U. P. Marble Crafts Palace.

Y'all take care,
-Mark