Handicrafts
Beyond deity sculpture lies a second, older Jaipur tradition — the marble handicraft. It is the tradition of the inlaid bowl on the dining table, the marble elephant on the executive desk, the pair of coasters given at a wedding, the small diya lit on Diwali. Where a murti is consecrated and installed, a handicraft is unconsecrated and freely gifted. Jaipur has produced these décor objects since Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II founded the city in 1727 and settled the Silawat and Sompura stone-carver communities around Chandpole Bazaar — the same bazaar where PLPS's workshop stands four generations later.
The most demanding form in this catalogue is Pietra Dura — known in India as Parchin Kari — the inlay tradition that reached its apex on the Taj Mahal in 1653. Authentic Parchin Kari is not painted, not resin-filled: it is the patient labour of cutting a matched recess into the marble surface, shaping a semi-precious stone (malachite, lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, turquoise, jasper) to fit that recess with hairline joints, and setting it flush without visible grout. PLPS's Shilpis — descendants of Shilp Guru Late Pandit Lallu Prasad Sharma (Presidential Award, 1991) — carry the same atelier discipline into a 4-inch coaster that they bring to a 6-foot deity commission. Optional gold-leaf edging (Swarna Karya) and mineral-pigment fills are offered for pieces intended as heirloom gifts.
The category is broad: Makrana and Vietnam White marble bowls and platters for Diwali sweets and dry fruits; hinged jewellery and trinket boxes with velvet-lined interiors; animal figurines — elephants (symbol of prosperity), horses, camels, peacocks, doves; incense (agarbatti) stands and traditional diyas in Bhainslana golden marble; Pietra Dura decorative panels and framed inlay pieces; ornamental urns, vases, chess boards and lazy-Susan trays for dining tables and coffee-table centrepieces.
Décor items scale from 4-inch coasters and small figurines to 24-inch inlaid table tops and bowls. Custom inlay designs are commissioned in floral Mughal motifs (iris, tulip, poppy), Rajasthani peacock and mango boota, and geometric interlaced stars. Bases and rims can be finished with hand-applied gold-leaf edging, and each piece can be presented in silk-lined boxes, embroidered pouches or wooden presentation crates for wedding return-gifts and corporate hampers.
PLPS supplies interior designers styling residences and boutique hotels, gift buyers assembling Diwali and wedding hampers, hospitality groups outfitting lobbies and guest suites, wedding families sourcing trousseau boxes and return gifts, and corporate procurement teams commissioning year-end paperweights and desk pieces at scale. Bulk pricing, private-label engraving and worldwide shipping in protective foam-and-crate packing are standard on hospitality and corporate orders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our handicrafts catalogue covers everything in marble that is not a deity sculpture or a portrait bust — the décor and gift-object side of the atelier. That includes bowls, plates and platters (plain and inlaid); coaster sets; hinged jewellery and trinket boxes with velvet-lined interiors; animal figurines — elephants, horses, camels, peacocks, doves and owls; incense (agarbatti) stands and traditional diyas; Pietra Dura decorative panels and framed inlay pieces; ornamental urns and vases; chess boards with inlaid squares; and lazy-Susan trays and decorative table tops. Sizes range from 4-inch coasters to 24-inch bowls and panels, with bespoke commissions above that.
Pietra Dura — Italian for 'hard stone' and known in India as Parchin Kari — is the technique of cutting matched recesses into a marble surface, shaping semi-precious stones (malachite, lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, turquoise, jasper, agate) to fit those recesses with hairline joints, and setting them flush without visible grout. The tradition reached its Indian apex under Shah Jahan in the 17th century, most famously across the Taj Mahal (1653), the Itmad-ud-Daulah (1628) and the Red Fort. Jaipur inherited and preserved this atelier practice through the Mughal decline, and PLPS's Shilpis carry it forward from the same Chandpole Bazaar where Silawat stone-carvers have worked since 1727.
Yes — custom Parchin Kari commissions are among our most requested handicraft orders. Popular design vocabularies include Persian and Mughal florals (iris, tulip, poppy, chrysanthemum), Rajasthani motifs (peacock, mango boota, jaali lattice), geometric interlaced stars and hexagonal tessellation, and calligraphic borders. Family monograms, corporate logos, wedding-couple initials and heritage crests can be adapted into an inlay panel by our design team. We share a hand-drawn or CAD proof for approval before cutting the recesses, name the semi-precious stones proposed for each colour zone, and confirm the marble base (Makrana, Vietnam White or Bhainslana golden) with sample photographs of the exact block.
For wedding return-gifts and corporate hampers the sweet-spot is 4 to 8 inches — a boxed set of four inlaid coasters, a small trinket box, a pair of tea-light diyas, a 6-inch elephant or peacock figurine, or a small inlaid bowl. Anything larger becomes awkward to distribute at scale. Every gift-scale piece can be presented in a silk-lined box, an embroidered brocade pouch or a laser-engraved wooden presentation crate; the couple's initials, the corporate logo or a short message can be engraved onto the base or into the box lid. Bulk pricing and consolidated shipping are standard from 25 pieces upwards.
Makrana white (Sangemarmar) is the traditional and premium choice — the same fine-grained stone the Taj Mahal is built from, unmatched for Pietra Dura inlay because it holds the hairline recess joints without micro-cracking and shows the inlaid stone colours at their truest. Vietnam White is our accessible alternative for gift-scale pieces and volume orders where the piece is admired at a distance rather than close inspection. Bhainslana golden — a PLPS specialty from the quarries near our workshop — carries a warm honey-cream tone that suits diyas, incense stands, bowls for sweets and any piece where a candle-lit or evening tabletop context calls for warmth rather than clinical white.
Authentic Pietra Dura is set with natural adhesives to preserve its flush, grout-free finish — so no dishwasher, no ultrasonic cleaning, no harsh detergents, and no soaking in water. Dust weekly with a soft dry cloth or a natural-hair brush; for a deeper clean, wipe with a barely damp muslin cloth and dry immediately. Never bang inlaid rims against hard surfaces — the semi-precious stones can pop from their recesses under sharp impact. For hospitality wholesale — hotels, resorts, cruise operators and boutique retailers — PLPS offers dedicated bulk pricing, private-label engraving, catalogue commissions and consolidated worldwide shipping in protective foam-and-crate packing. Please share your specification and volumes for a bespoke quote.
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Every piece is hand-carved to order in our Chandpole Bazaar workshop, Jaipur. Share your size, marble type and iconography — our 4th-generation artisans will craft it for you.
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