Manik Bagh

File:Moderne Maharajah, Musée des arts décoratifs, Paris 3 October 2019 02.jpg in 1932, in an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris]]

File:Bernard Boutet de Monvel 003.jpg, painted in 1929{{cite news |last1=Mekaad |first1=Dalil |title=1934 {{sic|po|trait|hide=y}} of Holkar king sold for record Rs18.94 crore |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/1934-potrait-of-Holkar-king-sold-for-record-Rs18-94-crore/articleshow/51739356.cms |work=The Times of India |date=8 April 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612222518/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/1934-potrait-of-Holkar-king-sold-for-record-Rs18-94-crore/articleshow/51739356.cms |archivedate=12 June 2020}}]]

The palace was commissioned by Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II for the use of himself and his wife Sanyogita Devi. It was built and furnished between 1930 and 1939 by the German architect Eckart Muthesius, and its design combines the Bauhaus style in architecture and Art Deco in the interior decoration.{{cite web |title=Moderne Maharajah. Un mécène des années 1930 |url=https://madparis.fr/francais/musees/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/expositions/expositions-terminees/moderne-maharajah-un-mecene-des-annees-1930/ |website=MAD Paris – Site officiel |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612223441/https://madparis.fr/francais/musees/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/expositions/expositions-terminees/moderne-maharajah-un-mecene-des-annees-1930/ |archivedate=12 June 2020 |language=French}} The prince and the architect had first met in 1928 in England.{{cite web |last1=Soulard |first1=Louis |title=Two Modernist Masterpieces for the Maharaja of Indore |url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/two-modernist-masterpieces-for-the-maharaja-of-indore |website=Sotheby's |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612223053/https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/two-modernist-masterpieces-for-the-maharaja-of-indore |archivedate=12 June 2020 |date=26 September 2019}}

The 40 rooms of the U-shaped building were all connected directly or through terraces. For the 80 or so servants in the house a separate external corridor was created. Because the walls could neither be wallpapered nor covered with silk due to the high humidity of the rainy months, Muthesius decided to come up with a solution by having the finest glass dust blown on the previously prepared walls. The floor was laid out in marble.{{cite web |url=https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13494981.html |title=Indische Visionen |website=Der Spiegel |date=20 March 1989 |language=German}}

The furniture, which was predominantly shaped according to the Bauhaus model, was made of black ebony, as were most of the columns. Muthesius designed for example the bar, lamps and some furniture.{{cite web |title=Eckart Muthesius, 1900–1989: Bar et deux tabourets, 1930 |url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2011/art-dco-et-design-pf1114/lot.134.html |website=Sotheby's |accessdate=12 June 2020 |language=French}} The furniture was partly dismantled in Berlin, packed and shipped to Indore.{{cite web |title=About Manik Bagh Branch |url=http://www.gstindore.gov.in/en/about/about-manik-bagh |website=CGST, Central Excise & Customs, Indore Commissionerate |accessdate=12 June 2020}} A friend of the maharaja, Henri-Pierre Roché brought together for him a crystal service by Baccarat, silverware by Jean Puiforcat customised with the royal arms, a deckchair by Eileen Gray, a floor lamp by Jean Perzel, a chaiselongue by Le Corbusier and screens by Drian.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.fr/savoir-vivre/story/a-la-recherche-du-maharaja-perdu/10470|title=À la recherche du maharaja perdu|language=French|trans-title=In search of the lost maharaja|first1=Pierre|last1=Groppo|first2=Condé Nast Digital|last2=France|date=9 October 2019|magazine=Vanity Fair}} The aluminium beds were made by Louis Sognot and Charlotte Alix.{{cite web|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/paris-maharaja-yashwantrao-holkar/|title=Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris celebrates the fascinating life of Maharaja Yeshwantrao Holkar II|date=14 September 2019|website=Architectural Digest India}} Famous French designer Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann designed

a "Studio for a Crown Prince of the Indies" with a huge map of India on the wall. The black and orange carpets with geometric patterns were by Ivan da Silva-Bruhns.{{cite web |last=Leslie |first=Fiona |date=19 April 2016 |title=The Manik Bagh Carpet: A Fusion of Craft and Machine for a Modern Maharaja |url=https://www.phillips.com/article/3493433/the-manik-bagh-carpet |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426012616/https://www.phillips.com/article/3493433/the-manik-bagh-carpet |archive-date=26 April 2016 |website=phillips.com}} {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20240902092725/https://www.phillips.com/article/3493433/the-manik-bagh-carpet|date=2 September 2024|title=}}{{cite web |title=Ivan da Silva Bruhns: Rug, circa 1930 |url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/design-pf1804/lot.7.html |website=Sotheby's |accessdate=12 June 2020}}

Two large double-portraits of the maharajah and his wife were done by Bernard Boutet de Monvel in 1929 and were placed in the palace.

In the garden, there was a project to create a garden with a "temple of meditation", with an installation of the bird sculptures by Brancusi that the maharaja owned. With the premature death of the maharani the project was never completed.{{cite web |last1=Gaillemin |first1=Jean-Louis |title=The discreet charm of the Maharajah |url=https://gazette-drouot.com/article/the-discreet-charm-of-the-maharajah/11418 |website=La Gazette Drouot |accessdate=12 June 2020 |date=19 November 2019}}

Muthesius had to leave India after the outbreak of the World War II. After the premature death of his wife Sanyogita Devi, the maharajah started to retreat from his interest in contemporary art and architecture and returned less to Manik Bagh.{{cite web|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/how-maharaja-yeshwant-holkar-and-maharani-sanyogita-devi-turned-indore-into-a-art-deco-paradise|title=How Maharaja Yeshwant Holkar and Maharani Sanyogita Devi Turned Indore Into a Art Deco Paradise|first=Mitchell|last=Owens|website=Architectural Digest}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/photos/world-news/photos-paris-gets-a-glimpse-of-the-life-of-indore-s-modernist-maharaja/photo-NWDZy8txR3WA9T2qHN3qGI.html|title=Photos: Paris gets a glimpse of the life of Indore's Modernist Maharaja|date=27 September 2019|website=Hindustan Times}} The interior decoration was sold and in 1980 auctioned at Sotheby's in Monaco.{{cite web |title=Eckart Muthesius: Pair of stools, circa 1930 |url=http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/design-pf1804/lot.1.html |website=Sotheby's |accessdate=12 June 2020}} Manik Bagh is now used by the Office of the Commissioner, CGST, Customs & Central Excise.

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris had an exhibition in 2019 called "Moderne Maharajah" dedicated to Yashwant Rao Holkar II and Manik Bagh, featuring some of the interior pieces such as the aluminium bed by Louis Sognot and Charlotte Alix, as well as pieces by Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann.

• Art Deco in Mumbai, part of the Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai World Heritage Site
• Narmada Kothi
• Rajwada, main palace of the Maharaja of Indore
• Villa Shodhan by Le Corbusier

{{Reflist}}

• Reto Niggl: Eckart Muthesius 1930. Der Palast des Maharadschas von Indore. Architektur und Interieur. Arnoldsche, Stuttgart 1996, {{ISBN|3-925369-55-4}}
• Reto Niggl, Annette Piening, Nicholas Grindell: Indien / India 1930–1939. Architektur / Architecture, Design, Photography / Fotografie. Munich 1999, {{ISBN|3-00-003905-8}}
• Anna Jackson (ed.): Maharaja. Pracht der indischen Fürstenhöfe. (Exhibition catalogue, Kunsthalle Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich, 12. February bis 24. May 2010) Hirmer, Munich 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-7774-2441-5}}

{{commonscat}}

• [http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/reviews/mason/mason10-12-1.asp Decorative Arts Diary]
• [https://madparis.fr/francais/musees/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/expositions/expositions-terminees/moderne-maharajah-un-mecene-des-annees-1930/ Moderne Maharajah. Un mécène des années 1930]
• [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/Manik-Bagh-antiques-to-come-under-hammer/articleshow/10591555.cms Manik Bagh antiques to come under hammer | Indore News - Times of India]
• [https://www.phillips.com/article/43379034/manik-bagh-palace-maharaja-eckart-muthesius Designing for the Manik Bagh Palace: Eckart Muthesius and the Maharaja]

Category:1930 establishments in India

Category:Art Deco architecture in India

Category:Bauhaus

Category:Buildings and structures in Indore

Category:History of Indore

Category:Monuments and memorials in Madhya Pradesh

Category:Palaces in Madhya Pradesh

Category:Royal residences in India

Category:Tourist attractions in Indore