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.

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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.

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Though the history of inlay is very old, it continues to evolve alongside new technologies and new materials being discovered today.