Indian Art; Silk Rugs and Marble Inlay

While on the Taj Tour we went to some Indian arts studios. A tourist trap if you ask me but it was educational and worthwhile. The first was a silk rug maker. He showed me the traditional machine he wove the rugs on. One square meter of these rugs contains three million individually tied silk knots. Also the angle at which the silk is tied makes the appearance that the rug is different colors when you rotate them. You will see below. The marble art was also interesting. It is called Pietra Dura. It is the art if inlaying marble with semiprecious stones and sea shells.



Rug Machine



These two rugs are the same but appear as different colors because the angle the silk is weaved



Finished Product.



Carving a marble table top



Finished product inlayed with sea shells