Makrana Marble Rehal Book Rest with Stone Inlay, 13in

The folding stand, made solid

A rehal is the X-shaped folding stand used across India to hold an open book at a comfortable reading angle. This one does not fold. It is carved from a single 13-inch piece of Makrana white marble, the two crossed supports rising and splaying from one block, which turns a piece of functional joinery into a single solid object with real weight to it.

Parchin kari on the outer faces

A slim border of coloured semi-precious stone runs along the outer faces — carnelian, lapis and malachite cut to shape and set flush into channels chiselled in the marble, in a fine geometric vine. This is parchin kari, the Agra and Jaipur inlay tradition, and it is inlay in the true sense: each piece of stone is shaped to its own seat, not painted or transferred. Run a finger across it and the surface is continuous.

Where it sits

A coffee table, a study desk, a console. Design and photography books are what it is scaled for, and an open book on a rest is a far better use of a low table than the same book closed in a stack. Left empty it stands as an object in its own right. Felt pads underneath protect the surface below.

Making yours

Size, inlay palette and pattern are open, and the border can be dropped entirely for a plain version that reads more modern. It is carved for you by the master sculptors we work with in Jaipur, with the inlay set after the form is finished and polished back flush as the last operation. Allow four to eight weeks, at the longer end for a dense inlay pattern.