Many renowned landmarks and sculptures – from the breathtaking Taj Mahal, to Michelangelo’s David – are made from marble. It involved a multitude of craftsmen chipping away at the unwieldy stone by hand, sometimes for years, to “release” its hidden potential.

All that though, is now a thing of the past. In a world first, Indonesian furniture maker MM Galleri has partnered with Singaporean building enterprise Sharikat National to create marble-bending technology. This groundbreaking development is poised to open up a myriad of new and versatile possibilities in marble application in the space of architecture, lifestyle and interior design.

At the same time, it reduces the use of the stone by up to 95 per cent, promoting a culture of ecologically sustainable quarrying in the long run. Advanced equipment manned by expert craftsmen can now cut marble to extremely thin dimensions, then bend it to clad the surfaces of any shape or framework formed by metal or wood.

The outcome of this technology is now on display at the first bended marble showroom (picture) launched by MM Galleri and Sharikat National. Also on show is the world’s first furniture collection made from it-think curvaceous tables, chairs, benches and even a bathtub.
Clearly, a new Stone Age is upon us.