Inlay Work~Agra

Introduction:

Usage:

The usage of Pietra dura for a long duration was architectural, used on floors and walls, columns, altars, tombs with both geometric and figurative designs. In the Italian Renaissance this technique again was used for images. The Florentines, who most fully developed the form, however, regarded it as ‘painting in stone’.

By the early part of the 17th century, smaller objects were widely diffused throughout Europe, and as far East to the court of the Mughals in India, where the form was imitated and reinterpreted in a native style; its most sumptuous expression is found in the Taj Mahal. In Mughal India, pietra dura was known as Parchinkari or Pachchikari, literally ‘inlay’ or ‘driven-in’ work.
Due to the Taj Mahal being one of the major tourist attractions, there is a flourishing industry of Pietra Dura artefacts in Agra ranging from tabletops, medallions, elephants and other animal forms, jewellery boxes and other decorative items. .The patterns and the designs are more Persian than Roman or Medician.
The art form is fully alive and thriving in the streets of Agra with a lot of products being exported abroad and some sold in the local areas. along with  Gokulpura, an area in Agra is lined with shops selling stone inlay work products. The owners posses a lot of karkhanas or have a lot of karigars working for them.

Significance:

Mughal art was an extraordinary blend of materials and techniques by the skilled craftsmen and artisans.
Some argue that the inlay art is Italian in origin and Indian artisans accomplished adapted it to their needs, gave it an indigenous touch and used the technique to carve out traditional Indian motifs that are today the crown of Indian art. Some believed it is developed slowly in India as we can observe the differences found in the inlay work of the buildings of Akbar to Jahangir and then Shah Jahan.
A continuous development in Inlay art can be seen in Jahangiri Mahal to Akbar’s Tomb and then in Tomb of Salim Chisti and Itmad-ud- Daulah’s tomb. The tomb of Itmad-ud -Daulah supplies a link between two important phases, namely those of Akbar and of Shahjahan. It is the first notable building in white marble with its rich ornamentation in pietra-dura that provides the impression of a miniature precious object magnified into a piece of architecture. It represents the transition from the red sandstone phase of Akbar’s buildings with their direct simplicity and robustness of structural design to that of sumptuous marble with all the changes.

‘Pachchikari’, stone inlay work as known in Mughal vocabulary bore an exemplary testimony to the intricate and exquisite taste of these prolific commissioners of monuments in India, with Agra being an important centre. Ranging from the floral and calligraphic inlaid patterns on the walls and arches of Taj Mahal, the magnificent floral panel created in white marble inlaid on red sandstone drapes the main gateway of Sikandra, the tomb of Akbar. Wall panels of the tomb provide a variety of geometric panels created in red sandstone and white marble with yellow sandstone and black stones.

Excellent multi-colored stone decorations on marble pillars in the Diwan-e-Aam and Musamman Burj in the Agra Fort are examples of remarkable inlay work in marble. Finished in white marble with profuse, delicate and intricate stylised inlay work, the graves of Nur Jahan’s mother and father at Itmad Ud Daula are probably the most profusely ornamented building of the Mughals.

This intricate craft continues to create magic through the development of various products by the craftsmen who diligently work in the streets of Agra. The beauty of craftsmanship and human skill unfailingly affects the onlooker. The high tourist demand for stone inlay products is a significant driving force. Driven by the tourist market’s need for souvenirs, the craftsmen have an incentive to go on.

Where Muslim artisans, the task of carving stone products, do the task of stone inlay finishing and polishing is shared between Muslim and Hindu craftsmen. There is a spirit of co-operation and respect for the work of each other, benefitting both the groups. Thus a syncretic relationship between the two communities and their work is interrelated in an interesting manner.

The craft is passed on from generation to generation and is like a family legacy. It at the same time generates employment avenues to a good number of people with the development of marble products, the task of inlaying, marketing and selling.

Myths & Legends:

The arabesques and geometric patterns of Islamic art are often said to arise from the Islamic view of the world. To Muslims, these forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the visible material world. To many in the Islamic world, they concretely symbolize the infinite, and therefore centralized, nature of the creation of Allah and convey spirituality without the figurative iconography of the art of other religions. Artists who believe only Allah can produce perfection, although this theory is disputed, may intentionally introduce mistakes in repetitions as a show of humility. Repeating geometric forms are often accompanied by calligraphy.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art cites four main shapes or “repeat units” most common in Islamic art: circles, squares, stars and multisided polygons. Shapes helped illustrate stories from the Koran and Islamic myths. The mosaic known as “God’s spider web” weaves a circular pattern of complex interlinking stars that echoes the fortuitous spider’s web that camouflaged the Prophet Mohammad’s hiding spot in less than a day, miraculously helping him evade bloodthirsty pursuers. This is a prime example of Mohammad’s story told in Islamic art without bowing to idolatry and violating the Koran.

It is said that the catalyst for this craft is the Solomonic throne. Shah Jahan’s jharokha was based on the bejeweled throne of King Solomon on which he sat and administered justice. King Solomon made a great throne, which was fashioned off ivory and covered with gold. It was set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other precious stones that shone with the most brilliant, the most dazzling, the most fascinating hues and colors. It had been adorned with replicas of growling lions and winged birds. These motifs patronized the witnesses and kept them from lying. To the Mughals, King Solomon epitomized great power driven by wisdom and justice. Imagery, symbolic of these, is inlaid in the niche behind Shah Jahan’s jharokha in Delhi. The light is a mystical symbol in Islam, the symbol of Divine unity and presence of God. It reminds that only God is real all other is illusion.

History:

Pietra-dura is an Italian word, meaning ‘hard stone’. It signifies the technique of inlaying of pieces of coloured stones resulting into some images representing a decorative art.

This Italian art appearing in Rome in 16th century, reached Florence to attain a classical artistic form. From 1630 onwards pietra-dura appeared on moveable, small objects as decorative panels, with bird and flower motifs, suitable for cabinet fronts and tabletops. Some of these soon reached the Mughals in the form of presents. This highly specialized technique was soon reinterpreted and imitated in what we know as the ‘Mughal style’ with its most splendid expression- the Taj Mahal.

With time, this marvellous art was mastered to great perfection by the artisans of the Mughal Empire,
In Mughal India, pietra-dura was known as Parchin-kari, literally ‘inlay’ or ‘driven-in’ work. 
The intricate craft of marble inlay continues to be practised in compact, congested areas of Agra. They are karigars, or skilled labourers, who continue to live around the Taj Mahal in slum colonies in the Nai Ki Mandi, Taj Ganj, Gokulpura and other small areas, and do precious inlay work on the artefacts, statues, tables, stools, boxes, trays, patters and other decorative items to be sold to tourists.

The entire lanes are occupied with houses of the craftsmen, karkhanas where they stay as well as work.

Design:

The outstanding aesthetic distinctiveness of Mughal style is visible excellently in the products developed by the skilled craftsmen of Pachikari. A vivid range of beautiful colours and combinations can be seen throughout in the works under them. Islamic art follows a tradition of almost avoiding figural representations and this makes it unlike most other cultures anywhere in the world.

They used abstract, geometrical or vegetal (arabesques) themes with enormous complexity and gave a unique place to calligraphy and epigraphy in their design of objects, all of which were executed in many styles. The Mughal monuments built during the period of different emperors having inlay work is an indigenous art and, moreover, developed form of mosaic, which has been further divided into two styles.

The first style was different geometrical shapes of stones of different colours were assembled and arranged in such a way to form a pattern on a plaster surface or on a stone slab. The other style was the inlaid style in which thin pieces of semi-precious stones were laid in sockets specially prepared in a sand stone or marble slab The major styles of design motifs and patterns used are:

GEOMETRIC : Geometric motifs are commonly used in Pachikari. Geometric patterns and ornamentation is assumed to express the abstract and infinite nature of Allah who is supposed to be formless and unexpressed in human language.
FLORAL :  Floral motifs are the most widely used design language in Pachikari, with a variety of flowers, blossoms, leaves, jaal, botanical details etc. the deeply felt love for florals amongst Mughals was the idea of paradise as a garden.
ARABESQUE : A form of abstracted nature, the arabesque motifs is widely used in Pachikari products. Inspired from natural plants and flowers, curved leaves, stalks and blossoms, the abstract motifs are repeated and mirrored.
CALLIGRAPHY : Calligraphy plays an integral part of the design vocabulary as the written word hold great importance in Islamic culture.

Challenges:

The craft being a family legacy, for some has become. They feel the craft is not able to provide them enough livelihoods despite the time and hard work put in. This marvellous craft is not able to get recognition amongst the localities and there is hardly any demand in the local market.
Another aspect is the technological advancement, which bears implications on the making process. There are ways in which the support of technology has been beneficial to this practice, but certainly within limits. With the introduction of electric grinders the work gets done faster but due to electricity shortage the manual grinders still need to be used extensively.
The process is highly labour intensive and time consuming with a series of steps involved. In order to cater to the export market, the artisans are engaged in mass production, making lots of things which have to look the same, the essence of each piece being unique is lost.The use of Pachikari on large-scale objects and constructions is now treated as a tradition of the past with hardly any people investing in these.

Introduction Process:

Raw Materials:

Marble: Marble is the base material, which is used to make the objects, structures and different products. This marble is brought from various places and is of different quality. The premium quality Makrana is brought from the place of the same name in Rajasthan. Makrana is a large town and it has plenty of marble outcrops. Most of the residents in this town, work as marble miners. It is found in mountain mines and uses dynamite blasts to get them. Gang saw cutters are used to make slabs from the marble blocks. The other variety is Alabaster, which is the imported marble from Italy or Spain. This is less expensive than makrana and is generally used for statues and small products. It is the most widely used quality of marble nowadays. A wide range of marble from Kishangarh in Ajmer district of Rajasthan is also widely used.

Semi Precious Stones: Semi precious stones, used to manufacture the inlay artefacts. The selection of stones is broadly done as per the requirements of design pattern and to put a value to inlay artefacts.

Semi precious stones have always been a luxury status in interiors owing to their exotic and rare nature. The variety of colours and patterns found in a stone allow for a broad palette of possibilities. The various semi precious stones used in Pachhikari are Lapis Lazuli (Lajvrata), Paua shell, Malachite (Dana firang), Turquoise (Firoza), Coral (Moonga), Cornelian (Hakik), Onyx (Sulemani pathar), Tiger eye (Khattu), Jasper (Ooda).

Gum: A masala of gum (usually araldite), marble dust and araldite is used to fill in the grooves and inlaying the stones.

Tools & Tech:

Hand Operated Emery Wheel: machines on which the artisan shapes the stones to give the fine, intricate design details. The manual emery wheel is widely used, which is rotated by hand with great precision using a cane rod attached with a leather band.
Tools: Specialized chiseling tools are required to create grooves/inlays on the marble surface for inlaying the shaped stones to develop different patterns and motifs. These mainly include Tankiya, Narzia and Hathoda (hammer).
Wax Polish & Grinders: For smoothening and polishing the stone inlaid products making them ready to be sold in the market.

Rituals:

process:

Stone Inlay work, technically known as Pietra-dura , meaning ‘hard stone’ in Italian, is marble inlaid with designs in precious or semi-precious stonework, such as lapis lazuli, onyx, jasper, carnelian, etc. cut into fine pieces and intricately inlaid in grooves prepared in the marble. Pachchikari is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and popular forms of Indian Mughal art and developed indigenously here.

The beauty of stone inlay work is its intricate and tedious process carried out by skilled craftsmen.
Their hands are remarkably trained to carry out the entire process flawlessly.

1) Designs are created keeping in mind the end product. Floral and geometric motifs inspired from the patterns on the Taj Mahal are re created by the experienced karigar.
This is done on tracing sheets using pencil/pen.
2) The design is traced on paper and the elements are separately cut.
3) The paper patterns are stuck on brass foil, and then cut. This forms the stencils for the design.
4) Using the stencils prepared, the design is traced on the semi precious stones to be inlaid in marble.
5) The stones are shaped on the grinder.  Smaller pieces of stone are joined together using lac. The lac piece is kept in between the two pieces to be joined. The heat results in melting of lac.  This acts like an adhesive to join the pieces. The ready “patti”, could be made of several smaller parts joined with lac.
6) The different parts of the design are shaped and placed together on small slabs of stone. This helps the craftsmen to identify the design as a whole and also to judge how the entire pattern comes out.  This is also helpful in organising the design for one piece together so that it gets easier for the next artisan to paste them in.
7) The design to be made is then etched on the marble piece. The marble is carved out according to the design. A combination of machine drills and hand tools is used now days for this purpose. The intricacy and precision of hand tools is the speciality of this craft.
8) A masala of gum, marble dust and araldite is used to fill in the grooves and inlaying the stones.
9) The intricate shaped semi precious stones are carefully inlaid in the marble and objects.
10) It is made sure that the stones fit in the design well.
11) The stone inlaid pieces with different designs and patterns are polished and finished on grinders attached with buffs. This enhances the entire look of the object and gives a finished lustre to it. For products of a big scale, a flooring grinder is used for finishing and polishing.

Waste:

The waste that is left from this craft technique is powdered marble from the buffing. Most of it gets mixed into the air, while some is dusted away as well.

Cluster Name: Agra-Agra

Introduction:

Agra, the home of culture, grandeur and extravagance, once capital city of the Mughals still keeps intact the skill and artistic essence of the yesteryears. In the present scenario, Agra comes across as a city with a number of visitors who love to explore the rich history and culture that made it to the Seven Wonders of the World.

History:

The history of Agra bears testimony to the city's glorious past. The early reference to the history of Agra can be traced in the famous epic Mahabharata where the city has been called "Agravana". Prior to this source, Agra was called the "Arya Griha" meaning the abode of the Aryans. The first person to refer the city with its present name was the famous Greco-Roman writer Ptolemy.

Agra was founded by Raja Badal Singh, a Sikarwar Rajput king in the year 1475. In the year 1506, Sikandar Lodi started the reign of the Delhi Sultanate in Agra. The death of Sikandar Lodi made his son Ibrahim Lodi to ascend the throne. Later in 1526, the once capital of the Lodi's, Agra was captured by Babur, after defeating the Lodi's. Thus a long reign of the great Mughal rule started in the city. Agra became a major city for the Mughal Empire after the first battle of Panipat.

The rich historical facts of Agra are clearly reflected in the large number of historical monuments that abounds the city. All the great Mughal emperors were prolific commissioners of monuments and their architecture is the finest representation of this skill. Mughal architecture is rich in ornament, grand in its appearance and most at times overwhelming the architecture itself. Three UNESCO World Heritage sites find place in the city of Agra. These are, Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. During the reign of the Mughal kings like Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the history of Agra reached its glorious peak.

Geography:

The Agra district is situated in western Uttar Pradesh between 27.11' degree Latitude North and 78.0' degree to 78.2' degree Longitude East. Its Altitude is 169 meters above sea level. Agra is situated on the bank of Yamuna River.
Its borders touch Rajasthan to its west and south, the district of Firozabad to its East and the districts of Mathura and Etah to its North.

By Air: Agra's Kheria airport is barely 5 km from the city and is also known as Agra Civil Enclaves.
By Train/Rail: Agra is well connected to the entire country by rail. The major railway stations include Agra Fort Railway Station, Agra Cantonment Railway Station and Raja-ki-Mandi.
By Road: Agra boasts of three National Highways including N.H. No. 2, 3 and 11. The government and private bus services are available to and from Agra to all the nearby major destinations. U.P. Tourism also conducts special guided tours for the tourists, who come here just for a day, including Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri in their itineraries.
From NCR: NH2, a modern divided highway, connects the 200 km (124 mi) distance from Delhi to Agra. Yamuna Expressway a 6-lane 165 km long expressway, a modern access controlled highway connects the 200 km (124 mi) distance from Delhi to Agra. The drive is about 2 hours. This highway has junction to Aligarh and Mathura via state highways.
NH 93 is a National Highway that connects Agra to Moradabad via Aligarh

Environment:

Agra, located on the Indo-Gangetic plain has a humid sub-tropical climate, with long, hot summers from April to September when temperatures can reach as high as 45°C (113°F) and extremely cold winters with fog. During summers dry winds (loo) blow in this region. The monsoon months from July to September, Agra city receives heavy rainfall and the weather becomes humid.

Infrastructure:

Architecture:

The patronage of the Mughals was one of the most creative and richest periods in Indian history, it entrusted us with an outstanding wealth of secular and religious buildings. The long legacy of Mughal influence on the city of Agra can be witnessed in form of the remarkable constructions like the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, and Sikandra.

The old city with its congested, narrow lanes with shops, vendors, houses, and workspaces is a big hub of activities. Surrounded by numerous temples and mosques, the city is an interesting mixture of history and culture.
A vast area of the city is connected by narrow lanes of old market streets known as "mandis" that sold particular products or goods and were named accordingly like Hing Ki Mandi, Rui ki Mandi, Nai ki Mandi, and many more.

Culture:

Agra is enriched with different cultural and traditional values. The city celebrates a plethora of cultural events and festivals on a large scale. Diwali, Dusshehra, Holi, Id, Ram Baarat are celebrated with great enthusiasm in the city.

The Kailash Fair, a huge fair celebrated in honor of Lord Shiva is held in the month of August/September. Ram Barat, part of Ramlila celebration in Agra is one of the biggest annual event in North India. A Baraat Marriage procession of Shri Ram is carried out every year in a new locality in the city with elaborate decorations, with lights & flowers.
Taj Mahotsav held in Shilpgram is a ten-day long festival that hosts an exhibition of crafts, arts, classical song and dance performances. A large number of Indian and foreign tourists coming to Agra join this festivity in the month of February.

Kalakriti Cultural and Conventional Centre is an art and cultural center in the city working to promote and celebrate the city's rich historic traditions through means of a cultural play: Mohabbat- the -Taj: The Saga of Love, along with other works of art displayed in the handicrafts showroom.
Once being a home of the Mughals, the city is widely famous for the Mughal cuisines like Kebabs, Kormas and curries that involve curd, cream, nuts, almond and selected spices.
The popular food item of Agra is the Pethas made from pumpkin is popular all over India. Dal moth is a kind of snack and also one of the specialties of the city along with Chaat- bhalla, kachori, samosas and gol gappas.

People:

The people of Agra are a mix of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and Sindhis. And some of the castes in Agra are the Jatavs, Baniyas and Jats. Agra is the birthplace of the religion known as Din-I-Ilahi, which flourished during the reign of Akbar and also of the Radhaswami Faith, which has around two million followers worldwide. The most widely spoken languages in Agra are Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Braj. The traditional attire includes Sarees, Salwar-Kameez, Dhoti-kurta or Kurta-Pajamas, but with the advent of globalization there has been an inclination towards varied styles of clothing especially from the west.

Famous For:

Agra is world famous for the remarkable Taj Mahal that bears testimony to the rich artistic Mughal aesthetics. Attracting tourists from all over the world, it is one of the New Seven Wonders of the world, and one of the three World Heritage Sites in Agra. Other important sites like the Itmad Ud Daula, Agra Fort, Sikandra, Fatehpur Sikri, Mariam's Tomb, Mankameshwar Temple, Guru ka Tal add to the rich architecture marvels of the city.
The city is famous for leather goods, beautiful carpets, gold and silver jewellery and handicrafts, such as zari zardozi, marble and stone carving and inlay work.
The city is also known for its popular sweets such as petha and gajak and savory snacks like dalmoth. The famous breakfast of Bedai Jalebi is a specialty of the city.

Gallery

Craftsmen

List of craftsmen.

Documentation by:

Team Gaatha

Process Reference:

Cluster Reference: