Marble Work

After visiting the Agra fort we went to this place to see how the marble work is done. It's a free demonstration, but afterward a higher pressure sales pitch commences. I was ok with it because I knew it was coming and it was worth it to learn how these things are done.

Because acid rain damaged the Taj Mahal there is no large industry allowed for 60 km around Agra. As a result Agra is known for it's cottage industry. Here this person is shaping the semi-precious stone on a grinding wheel like those used in the times of the construction of the Taj Mahal.


Shaped semi-precious stone sitting on top of marble.

Each one of these pieces is shaped and placed togehter by hand.

The spaces for the stones is carved into the marble this scratching tool. Since the marble is whit, they can't really tell what scratches have been made, so they first coat the marble with a henna dye that they remove later. This also follows the traditional method done, hundreds of years ago.

The work on display for purchase and the salesman/presenter. He claimed his family had been in the marble business since the time of the Taj Mahal, which they also worked on.





A demonstration of the luminescence of the marble when the lights are turned off.


One of the boxes that I liked.



A piece still being worked on, still coated in henna dye.
The traditional glue is in this metal bowl. It's hardened here, but it is made from the dust of the marble, as well as honey and beeswax, as well as some other natural ingredients.