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Stolen
items
Legends
abound concerning items originally attached to the Taj Mahal which were
stolen. Some original items have been removed over time, but many are mere
legends only. These legends include:
Gold
leaf, supposed to have covered all or part of the dome.
A
golden railing supposed to have circled the cenotaphs (suggested perhaps
by a temporary enamel railing that was replaced after completion of the
marble jali)
Diamonds
supposedly inlaid in the cenotaphs
A
blanket woven of pearls supposedly covering Mumtaz's cenotaph
Numerous
items from the Taj Mahal have gone missing however; these include the following
An
entrance door of carved jasper
Gold
leaf that adorned the cast iron joints of the jali screen around the cenotaphs
Numerous
rich carpets that covered the interior of the tomb
Enamelled
lamps from the interior of the tomb
The work done
on this tomb is by very precious stones.
There is a closeup
of the central circle in the following photograph
given below and
in the third photograph you will find more closeup.
Red sandstone
was brought from Fatehpur Sikri, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from
China, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from Sri Lanka,
Coal & Comelian from Arabia and Diamonds from Panna. In all 28 kind
of rare, semi precious and precious stones were used for inlay work in
the Taj Mahal. |
