The Makrana marble carving was introduced by the Mughals in the form of decorative art in Agra during the medieval era, and ever since then it has been famous for its stone crafts. But the real skill of the craftsmen of Agra lies in the carving of intricate jaali or fretted stone lattices. Jali is a fretted stone work which combines the elements of geometrical motifs along with the Persian style. This kind of stone work was based on the theme of paradise effect, which the Mughals adopted to bring out the beauty of both Persian and Indian arts using different types of geometrical shapes.

Although this kind of stone jali work was meant for architectural purposes, but a small group of craftsmen of Agra have inculcated this technique of fretted stone work to make articles such as ornamental boxes, incense boxes and lamp shades of varying grades, especially for tourist trade.

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