Inlay is famously seen interlacing beauty and lending opulence to the makrana white marble of the Taj Mahal. Inlay, earlier known as Pietra Dura (Italian) and Parchin Kari (Persian), covers a range of techniques for inserting and precisely matching pieces of thinly sliced, often contrasting and coloured, materials into depressions in a base object to create eye-catching patterns.
Incepted in Ancient Rome, the technique reached India in the Mughal courts. Today, marble inlay is mainly carried out in only two places in India – Agra and Rajasthan. The skill for this delicate and laborious process commands precision, patience, and perfection.
Though the history of inlay is very old, it continues to evolve alongside new technologies and new materials being discovered today.
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