Marble Palace is a palatial nineteenth-century mansion in North

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. It is located at 46, Muktaram Babu Street, Kolkata 700007. It is one of the best-preserved and most elegant houses of nineteenth-century Calcutta. The mansion is famous for its marble walls, floors, and sculptures, from which it derives its name.

History

The house was built in 1835 by Raja Rajendra Mullick, a wealthy Bengali merchant with a passion for collecting works of art. The house continues to be a residence for his descendants, and the current occupants are the family of Raja Rajendra Mullick Bahadur. Raja Rajendra Mullick was the adopted son of Nilmoni Mullick, who built a

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

temple which predates Marble Palace, and still stands within the premises, but is only accessible to members of the family.

Architecture

The house is Neoclassical in style, while the plan with its open courtyards is largely traditional Bengali. Adjacent to the courtyard, there is a ''thakur-dalan'', or place of worship for members of the family. The three-story building has tall fluted Corinthian pillars and ornamented verandas with fretwork and sloping roofs, built in the style of a Chinese pavilion. The premises also include a garden with lawns, a rock garden, a lake and a small zoo.

Collections

Marble Palace houses many Western sculptures, pieces of Victorian furniture, paintings by European and Indian artists, and other artifacts. Decorative objects include large chandeliers, clocks, floor to ceiling mirrors, urns, and royal busts. The house is said to contain two paintings by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

, ''The Marriage of St. Catherine'' and ''The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian''. There are also said to be two paintings by

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depen ...

, ''The Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpent'' and ''Venus and Cupid''. Other artists said to figure in the collections include

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and

John Opie John Opie (16 May 1761 – 9 April 1807) was an English historical and portrait painter. He painted many great men and women of his day, including members of the British Royal Family, and others who were notable in the artistic and literary ...

. The collection of artifacts is lavish but random; genuinely valuable pieces of art share space with a lot of kitschy art objects of little value. This has caused some to feel the collection is superficial and gaudy.

Geoffrey Moorhouse Geoffrey Moorhouse, FRGS, FRSL, D.Litt. (29 November 1931 – 26 November 2009) was an English journalist and author. He was born Geoffrey Heald in Bolton and took his stepfather's surname. He attended Bury Grammar School. He began writing as a ...

in his book ''Calcutta'' says it looks "as if they had been scavenged from job lots on the Portobello Road on a series of damp Saturday afternoons."

Appearances in fiction

The final scene of the French novel '' Le vol des cigognes'' de Jean-Christophe Grangé takes place in the Marble Palace.

Access

Because Marble Palace remains a private residence, photography is prohibited. Entry is free, but a permit must be obtained 24 hours in advance from the West Bengal Tourism Information Bureau at

B. B. D. Bagh B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...

, Kolkata. Inside the house, there are guides who give visitors a tour of the house, although the parts of the house which are still inhabited remain off-limits. Marble Palace is open from 10am to 4pm on all days except Mondays and Thursdays.

References

Bibliography

*Chatterjee, Dinabandhu. "A Short Sketch of Rajah Rajendro Mullick Bahadur and His Family", Calcutta: Calcutta Print Works, 1917.

External links

Marble Palace of Kolkata - Secret World
{{Kolkata topics Palaces in Kolkata Museums in Kolkata Houses completed in 1835 1835 establishments in India Marble buildings