White Makrana marble is probably India’s most famous marble, being the marble used to build one of the best known Unesco World Heritage Sites: The Taj Mahal.
White Makrana is being quarried at the western edge of the Aravalli mountains, close to the town of Makrana in the province Rajasthan. This area contributes more marble to the stone industry than any other province in India.
White Makrana is a fine or medium grained white calcitic marble that can be cut into quite large blocks, which is a considerable advantage when constructing such extensive and impressive monumental buildings as the Taj Mahal or applying it to cover large areas, for example as pavings or claddings.
But that does not mean White Makrana is crude, quite the opposite. It is very much suitable for intricated ornamental use, allowing for tiny details such as mother of pearl, carnelian, aventurine or other gem inlays. It is also the base material for “jali”, screens featuring pierced geometric patterns cut so delicately that they sometimes appear like lace.
