Kolkata’s Marble Palace, built in 1835, is home to a wealth of artifacts collected from across Europe by a wealthy Bengali merchant.
For those who wish to get a taste of 19th century colonial Bengal and the flamboyance of the bhadralok, the elite who emerged under the Raj, ‘Mullick Bari’ — or Marble Palace — is the place to visit.
A walk through the chaotic lanes of Muktaram Babu Street in north Kolkata leads to the palatial mansion. Situated a stone’s throw away from Rabindranath Tagore’s Jorasanko residence, the mansion stands out for its architectural eloquence and its treasures that speak of the grandeur of the man who built it back in 1835. “Rajendra Mullick was a merchant whose business included shipping and gold exchange,” explains the guide. He got magnificent artworks from across Europe and put them up in his mansion, he adds.
You don’t have to enter the building to begin to see the treasures. The sprawling lawn on front of the 19th century structure, built in the distinctly neo-classical European style, gives a glimpse into the wealth that lies inside. Greco-Roman sculptures are scattered across the lawn which leads to a verandah supported by Roman columns. In the middle of the lawn stands a marble fountain with figurines in each direction.
The silence that surrounds the marble pillars, walls and floor — it is said that 126 types of marbles from around the world have been used — is broken only by the voice of the guide and the sounds of the birds and animals from the zoo and the avian sanctuary within the premises. The zoo and sanctuary are home to deer, porcupines, exotic birds and the more common ducks and pigeons. But for them, the place is as though frozen in time. Swapan Barua, the officer at the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation, says, “On an average, about 500 people visit the Marble Palace in a month. Most of them are foreign tourists.” That’s not a big number considering that entry is free. But visitors are required to get permission from the tourism development corporation. There are no compromises about that.
Step into the building and you find yourself in the entrance hall with two billiards tables and marble statues of Roman gods and goddess like Venus, Apollo, Bacchus. The hall leads to an open, traditional Bengali courtyard or the thakur dalan. The descendants of Mullick continue to hold Saraswati and Kali puja here, says the guide. “But the puja is only for the family,” he adds. The property is now owned by the eighth generation of Mullick’s descendants and is maintained by a private trust. In this courtyard shaped like a quadrangle, four statues of female figures are placed in four directions. They represent the continents of Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Every morning, the birds are set free in this courtyard which is covered with a net.
The art gallery on the first floor is a treasure trove of artworks like ‘Dancing Girl’ by Raja Ravi Varma, ‘Shakuntala Dushmanta’ by Jatin Das Paul, ‘Madonna and Child’ by Sassoferrato, ‘Jesus Resurrection’ by J. Reynolds and ‘St. Sebastian’ by Murillo.
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Besides his passion for art, the wealthy Bengali merchant was also fond of Western music and dance. So, he built a ballroom in his mansion. The guests could watch themselves twirl in the two floor-to-ceiling Belgian mirrors. “These mirrors,” says the guide, “were shipped from Europe.” Belgian glass chandeliers hang from the ballroom ceiling. “The ballroom floor is of wood because marble flooring would not have been suitable for dancing,” the guide says explaining the one patch which is not milky white like the rest of the mansion. The room also has a print of ‘The Last Supper’, a gold Italian clock, Ravi Shankar’s sitar, which the maestro had given to be displayed at the museum, and numerous other artifacts. And there is a collection of mementoes and gifts the family received from embassies across Europe.
With time, dust has gathered on the billiards tables which have remained unused for years. The crystal chandeliers and the Belgium mirrors no longer reflect the dance parties that were once a routine. The guests are long gone. Times have changed. But Marble Palace stands as a reminder of an era when European style and Bengali tradition created a new symphony.
