Do you know that two silver jugs, huge in size, once travelled to London with the Jaipur King?
Surprised? But yes, it is true.
In fact, these huge sterling silver vessels can be seen placed in City Palace in Jaipur even today.
As per the records, the huge silver vessels were constructed under the reign of Maharaja Madho Singh II for his scheduled visit to London in the year 1902 for attending Edward VII’s coronation.
The vessels were made under the directions of Madho Singh II who was a poised and devout Hindu ruler and he did not consider European water suitable for his drinking.
With his travel plans scheduled, he knew that he shall require Ganges water to perform his religious ceremonies in the foreign nation.
Hence, he ordered making of these huge silver vessels.
With a capacity to store 4000 litre of water, these silver water vessels were made weighing 345 kg.
The beautiful silver vessels were then filled with water from the holy Ganges river. A total of 8000 litre of water was filled in them which was sufficient for Madho Singh II’s visit to England.
As these vessels stored Gangajal, they are referred to as Gangajalis which mean Ganges water vessels.
The pair of these pristine expensive silver vessels still gives a visual treat to your eyes in the centre of the Maharaja’s City Palace in the Diwan-i-Khas, which is called as the private audience hall.
Even today, they stand at 1.6 metres stretch and are recognised as the largest single object constructed from silver by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Each of the silver water vessels weighs 345 kg and stand at 1.6 metres. They are certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest single object constructed from silver.
These vessels were completed in over two years time period between 1894 and 1896 and the credit to design and make them goes to two Jaipur silversmiths who were engaged in the task of making the pristine piece. These vessels were shaped using a total of 14,000 silver coins and the the USP of these vessels is that it avoided the use of soldering sections together. Eventually, they are considered as a solid single piece of silver.
May be, now, you are keen too to look into these vessels. So here is an apt time; plan an itinerary to Jaipur and see one of the most beautiful jugs being showcased here.