The Marble Palace in Kolkata is a Nineteenth-century neoclassical mansion constructed by Raja Rajendra Mullick, that includes a mix of architectural kinds and a wealthy assortment of artwork and artefacts. It’s famend for utilizing 126 forms of marble.
Scores of civilisations got here and left the earth, however not with out leaving indelible imprints upon it within the type of ingenious constructions.
Seven of those made it to a listing: ‘Seven Wonders of the Historical World’ — the protagonists being the Colossus of Rhodes, the Nice Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Whereas solely considered one of them remains to be standing, earthquakes and fires destroyed the opposite six. The Mausoleum of Halicarnauss, as an example, was struck down by successive earthquakes between the eleventh and fifteenth century CE.
In its heyday, the monument was the tomb of Mausolus, ruler of Caria (a area in present-day Turkey). However neither the devastating stays of stone it left behind nor the clouds of mud might erase the reminiscence of the towering marble magnificence that individuals would as soon as gape at in pure marvel. The mammoth facade blended the concepts of Greek architects Pythius and Satyros, with sculptures flanking its sides.
It was magnificence personified.
A palace on Muktaram Babu Road in North Kolkata (beforehand Calcutta, the seat of the British Raj), is alleged to encourage the identical response. Whereas individuals have identified a resemblance between the Marble Palace, Kolkata, and the monument in Turkey, there isn’t any sound proof whether or not the latter impressed the previous.
An architectural emblem
A mansion that fuses cultures. This moniker aptly describes the Marble Palace; a white beacon of serenity set in opposition to a bustling stretch of land dotted with retailers and bazaars. With its neoclassical structure rising to the skies and its manor-like gates opening up a portal into an alternate dimension — a royal one if you’ll — the palace is without doubt one of the best-preserved personal areas in India.
The title borrows from the 126 forms of marble that went into its making. And if that doesn’t tick the field for sheer ingenuity, the host of collections throughout the museum will. The historical past of the mansion is colored and traces again to Raja Rajendra Mullick, a Bengali service provider.
Adopted by Nilmani Mullick who was a descendant of businessman Ramakrishna Mullick, Rajendra didn’t need for something. In 1878, Lord Lytton, viceroy and governor-general, conferred him with the title ‘Raja Bahadur’. On the tender age of 16, Rajendra started constructing the Marble Palace, finishing it by 1840. At present, the grand avenue is a testomony to his love for cultures, inventive prowess, and penchant for collectables.
Grandness has its moments
Few are lucky to be aware of the royal facades and interiors on the Marble Palace. However if you’re permitted a personal guided tour by way of the place — potential solely by making use of by way of the West Bengal Tourism Info Bureau — put together to be surprised. The magic lies within the chiselled particulars. Privateness is prized at this Nineteenth-century dwelling, which explains the stringent guidelines about having guests.
However a fortunate few who’ve been inside its chambers, communicate extremely of the palace’s testomony to preserving tradition. If you happen to look lengthy sufficient on the block of white, you’ll have the ability to inform the mix of various architectural kinds which have gone into its design.
The neoclassical fashion Corinthian columns blended with fretwork verandahs and sloping roofs impressed by Chinese language structure, give solution to Victorian furnishings inside the house. The roof in the meantime is topped with an ornately carved French pediment. The palatial quarters boast 5 halls: Reception Corridor, Portray Room, Sculpture Room, Billiards Room and Thakur Dalan (place of worship).
Every of those rooms bears the nostalgia of the artwork that Rajendra collected alongside his travels. He beloved dabbling in it; the Bohemian goblets, French Ormulo clocks, swords from Toledo, and Venetian mirrors are proof.
When souvenirs aren’t delighting your senses, large oil work will. These embrace Rubens’ ‘The Marriage of St Catherine’, ‘The Toddler Hercules Strangling the Serpent’ by Joshua Reynolds, work by Raja Ravi Varma, Jan Van Goyen, and Giovanni Battista, and sculptures of Venus, Apollo, Homer, and different legendary and actual figures.
It’s stated that the palace homes 76 uncommon artworks introduced from Italy and Belgium in 1830, and a two-cornered biocome that’s stated to have been worn by Napoleon Bonaparte throughout his army campaigns. The originality remains to be debated.
Your method might be illuminated by the sunshine bouncing off the Nineteenth-century disco balls. The palace is a steadiness between grandeur and a heat place known as ‘dwelling’. However whereas it’s the household’s contact for artefacts that pulls guests to the place, it was as soon as the zoo that made headlines.
The Marble Palace is a palatial nineteenth-century mansion in North Kolkata at 46, Muktaram Babu Road. It is without doubt one of the best-preserved mansions of nineteenth-century Calcutta. The mansion is known for its marble partitions, flooring, and sculptures, from which it derives its title.… pic.twitter.com/M7cvGln1tn— Rupak Chattopadhyay (@RupakChatto) October 13, 2023
Magpies and golden pheasants
In an interview with Telegraph India, Hirendra Mullick — resident and curator of Marble Palace — credited Mullick’s background in botany and ornithology for creating India’s first privately-owned zoo. Referred to as Nilmani Niketan after Rajendra Mullick’s father, the zoo was an try and protect and show herbivores, owing to the household’s vegetarian weight loss program.
Uncommon birds like albino peacocks, hyacinthine macaw, chicken of Alexandria, trucan, hawk-headed parakeets, silver and golden pheasants, magpies, hornbills, and mute swans; long-tailed monkeys, noticed deer, barking deer, red-butt baboon, and porcupines thrived right here.
As Hirendra added, “Every part is preserved to guard the glamour and glory of the custom, historical past and atmosphere of the previous. Every part is religiously adopted as instructed by the founder.”
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As the daylight bathes the sweeping lawns in a yellow glow, the glint bounces off the marble marvel — a logo of Kolkata’s still-standing royalty.
Edited by Pranita Bhat.
Sources
The previous preserved in a Marble Palace by Saurajit Mazumdar, Revealed on 31 October 2018.
Marble Palace, Kolkata: the story behind Kolkata’s mansion of curiosities by Conde Nast Traveller, Revealed on 8 February 2022.
The Marble Palace in Kolkata speaks of the grandeur of the Mullicks by Saheli Mitra, Revealed on 3 Might 2024.
The Marble Palace by Rituparna Pal, Revealed on 22 Might.
