Indian Pietra Dura Table Top

Hours of stonecutting, and it is mostly going to hold up a drink.

This pietra dura table top comes from Rajasthan, India, and is contemporary, a mosaic of hardstone. In pietra dura, stones are cut and fitted so closely that the joins nearly vanish, a craft associated in India with Mughal-era inlay and still practiced by skilled workshops. A veined black oval, ringed in dark red, holds a cross of brown and cream petals. Curling dark scrolls fill the cream ground at both ends, and a golden yellow border runs around it all. 40 inches long and 18 deep.

Use a coaster. Or at least feel bad about it.