This model of the cenotaph of the Mughal Empress, Mumtaz Mahal (1598-1631), who was the wife of Emperor Shah Jahan. It is a copy of the original in the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. This model replicates the upper cenotaph which has the qu’aranic inscription: ‘‘The illumined grave of Aijumand Banu Begam, entitled Mumtaz Mahal, who died in the year 1040 [1631]’.

Whilst the large scale of the model is unusual it was probably made in the nineteenth century when other finely crafted models of Indian monuments were created for a growing international clientele who wanted a memento from India. Since the Taj Mahal was built in the seventeenth century, Agra actively produced finely crafted items with stones inlaid such as chess boards, boxes and vessels. The extraordinary nature of this architectural model suggests that, though the patron and purpose remained unidentified, it is likely to have been a unique commission, though the patron and purpose remained unidentified.

The white marble was quarried in the Makrana quarries near Jaipur, Rajasthan, and the hardstones used for the inlay were obtained from various imported and indigenous sources. The use of Makrana marble for the architectural model echoes the material used for the cenotaph. Among the hardstones that were most likely sourced in India are red and green jaspers and yellow and pink agates. The meticulously cut and inlaid verses from the Koran are of a black marble that is probably from Bhainslana, Jaipur.

The art of stone inlay used in Mughal architecture is originally an Indian art (the earliest examples of hardstone inlay can be seen in Chaumukhi Jain Temple (A.D. 1438) at Ranpur, the Qila-i-Kuhna mosque (A.D. 1542) in the old fort at Delhi and Humyun’s Tomb (A.D. 1565) in Delhi).

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.