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The Process of Marble Inlay
 
Indian marble inlay craft or Pietre Dura or Parchin kari is one of the most elegant and exquisite forms of art on the subcontinent. The Taj Mahal is a great example of the beauty of this art. Techniques have remained virtually unchanged and to this day everything is created exclusively by hand. The art is kept alive within descendant families for generations, who worked on the Taj Mahal.
Steps:

1. Marble is first painted with red water color.
2. Detailed planning is done and the pattern is traced on the marble by the ustad or the Master Craftsman.
3. Color scheme and material for inlay is decided. The inlay material can be precious or semi-precious stones or colored marble and are expertly chosen to give just the right graduation in color and shade for the overall radiance of the pattern.
4. Depending upon the pattern and color scheme, different rough semi precious stones are shaped individually into flowers, leaves, etc over an emery wheel. Sometimes heat treatment is also given to certain stones to get a shading effect.
5. The pattern is then chiseled in the marble. The size of the chiseled grooves is exactly the same as the shaped gemstones.
6. These gemstones are then carefully incorporated into the marble with some adhesive. After it dries off, the red color is washed off and the piece is polished with a mixture of sand, water and emery paper to give a shiny smooth finish.
Here are some pictures of our craftsmen at work. You can also click on the play video button on the right to learn more about this interesting art.