Marble Palace

Marble Palace stands on Muktaram Babu Street in the Jorasanko area of north Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was built in 1835 by Raja Rajendra Mullick, a wealthy Bengali merchant and zamindar, and it remains the private home of his descendants, who maintain it. The mansion is Neoclassical in style, with a large portico, tall Corinthian columns and a central courtyard, and it takes its name from the many varieties of imported marble used on floors, walls and statues. The interiors are filled with European furniture, Belgian chandeliers, Venetian glass, Chinese vases, clocks and large mirrors, along with Greek and Roman style sculptures arranged in galleries and gardens. The picture collection is notable and includes works attributed to European artists such as Rubens, Murillo, Titian and Joshua Reynolds, along with Italian and Flemish paintings and portraits of the family. The grounds hold a small private zoo and aviary, with birds, and a family temple and a garden with a pond. Rajendra Mullick is remembered as a patron who also gave free food to the poor, a custom that continued for generations. The palace is not run as a museum; visitors need a permit from the West Bengal Tourism Information Bureau to enter, and guided groups are taken through the rooms by staff of the family. Photography is not allowed inside. The building has seen long-term conservation by the family, and the dense collection is displayed as left by earlier generations rather than arranged chronologically. It sits close to the Jorasanko Thakur Bari and the potters' quarter of Kumartuli.