Marble Palace, Historic palace in Shovabazar-Jorasanko district, Kolkata, India.
Marble Palace is a museum inside a palace in the Shovabazar-Jorasanko district of Kolkata, India, and ranks among the city's heritage buildings of the first grade. The estate spans three floors with verandas supported by Corinthian columns, interior courtyards, and galleries displaying artwork and antiques.
Raja Rajendra Mullick, a Bengali merchant and landowner, commissioned this residence starting in 1835 to house his collection of European and Indian artworks. Later generations of the family have occupied the building and added to the collection, while parts of the estate now open to the public as a museum.
The palace takes its name from the marble floors and columns imported from Italian quarries. Inside, ancient Greek and Roman statues stand beside Chinese vases and mirrors from Belgium, while the rooms display chandeliers made of Venetian glass.
A visit requires advance permission from the West Bengal Tourism Bureau, which should be requested several days beforehand. Photography is not allowed anywhere on the grounds, as the Mullick family still lives privately within the residence.
The gardens once held a small zoo with taxidermied animals and exotic birds, and some of these preserved specimens remain visible in glass cases inside the palace. A private Jagannath-style temple also stands on the grounds, but remains restricted to the Mullick family alone.
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