Gangajalis, Silver Water Urns
Contained within the Maharaja's City Palace are the two largest single items of sterling silver, two huge water vessels. Each of the silver urns has a capacity of 4,000L and were filled with water from the holy Ganges River for the personal use of the maharaja during visits outside of India.
Each of the silver water vessels weighs 345 kg and stand at 1.6 metres are recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest single object constructed from silver.
They were created over a two year period between 1894 and 1896 by two Jaipur silversmiths and were fashioned from a total of 14,000 silver coins. The pair of silver water jars avoided the use of soldering sections together, so they are considered as a solid single piece of silver.
History of the Gangajalis
The silver urns were constructed under the direction of maharaja Madho Singh II's for his visit to London 1902 to attend the coronation of Edward VII. Madho Singh II was poised and devout Hindu who did not consider European water suitable for drinking and required Ganges water for religious ceremonies.
The silver vessels were filled with water from the River Ganges and are referred to as Gangajalis (Ganges water vessels) and thankfully the 8,000 L of water was sufficient for Madho Singh II's short visit to England. The pair of fantastically expensive water containers are located in the centre of the Maharaja's City Palace in the private audience hall, the Diwan-i-Khas.
The Gangajalis Silver Water Urns in the City Palace of Jaipur
Jaipur India Holiday Travel Guide
