The Humayun’s Tomb in the national capital has got its finial back, after a storm dislodged it last May.
“The new finial was installed last week,” Atul Kumar Bharagawa, Superintendent Archaeologist, Delhi Circle, Archaeological Survey of India, said.
Almost a replica of the previous one, the new finial is made of copper of 99.5 per cent purity.
Traditionally crafted
Traditional craftsmen worked on it to match the perfection of the original piece. On May 30, the ornamental and “auspicious” finial installed atop the dome of the 16th century tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was damaged in a thunderstorm. The 18-foot-long finial had 11 copper vessels in gold finish and covered with a brass crown. It had a beam made of sal wood inside.
After an initial study carried out by a team of the ASI and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the trust was asked to prepare a report in June. After it submitted the report on July 16, the ASI sent samples from the broken finial to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. The trust was given permission on December 31 to carry out the repairs.
The finial is 24 foot long, with a little of it going inside the dome.
“After months of hard work, we have finally brought the finial back on top of the dome. To carry out the installation, we had to put up a 140-foot-high scaffolding,” Ratish Nanda, project director of the trust, said.
He said the gold leaves on the final were just plating, but the idea was to get it done in gold eventually.
“We are looking for a corporate sponsorship to get the leaves done completely in gold. Once we get it, we will redo the finial with all gold work,” Mr. Nanda said.
ASI archives say the finial was last dismantled and repaired by the British in 1912, who documented the object. It helped the team in its reconstruction.
“The 11 copper vessels in gold finish were in a friable state and had been repaired several times over the past five centuries. Each vessel was weighed and studied separately to allow comparisons with the original profile and carefully map the damage,” Mr. Nanda said.
He said the wood of the beam had been damaged by water retention following repairs a few decades ago using cement, blocking the water outlet. In keeping with the conservation philosophy, traditional craftsmen were engaged to prepare the vessels just as they were prepared five centuries ago.
“We got some of these craftsmen in Chawri Bazar here, but it was not easy, putting this together. But, we did not want to compromise on the heritage value of the finial. I am glad the crown is finally back on the king’s head,” a senior ASI official said.
Old one to be preserved
“The old finial will be kept in the new, onsite museum coming up at the tomb. It will be its centrepiece,” Mr. Nanda said.
