Cake Stand

Cakestand
A man in black and lady in white stand atop a cake placed on marble, while their living counterparts walk down the aisle.

Craft Type: Marblework

Inspired by the mesmerising pietra dura work done during the Mughal era, Parchin Kari, also known as Pacchikari, is a method of inlaying coloured marbles/semi-precious gems into a stone base in geometric or delicate floral patterns. Our Pachhikari artists from Agra are said to be descendants of the master craftsmen who built the wondrous Taj Mahal. Having inherited a keen eye for detail, our artists painstakingly shape stone slivers into minute petals, leaves, and stems using a manually operated emery wheel; often, a single flower is composed of at least forty pieces of stones and takes a whole week to create. Moreover, our inlay work is so fine that to the one holding a finished piece, it feels like the marble birthed the inlaid patterns by itself -- a miracle of modern art.

Process 

There are different types of marble available but Makrana, a type of white marble is the most preferred for inlay work as it’s easier to carve in and is resistant to shattering.

- Manufactured between Agra and Jaipur, high-grade marble stones are selected and then cut with a saw, file and drilling machine as per the required length and width.

- then with an abrasive, heavy stone, the craftsmen grind the surface of the marble.

- After that traditional chiselling tools such as tanya and narzi, are used to engrave and create inlays on the surface of marbles.

- the craftsmen make sure that the carving is extremely crisp, so prior to chiselling, the surface of the piece is coated with red earth, to make engraved lines in each pattern stand out.

- then poster colours are applied on the surface to highlight the patterns drawn.

- After that semi-precious stones are selected according to colour, cut into thin slices, and shaped on a hand-operated machine known as a home.

- Post that traditional tools such as saan and kamaani are used to shape the gemstones in delicate floral motifs with an emery wheel. This step requires extreme attention to detail and each artisan is especially skilled at carving a certain set of shapes

Color 

• White & Gold 

Dimensions 

• 29.1 X 29.1 X 12.8