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Description of Figure/Doll

Ceramic figures of man and woman from India. They are covered with small colored mirrors and glass. Their faces are hand painted. Small gold chains are used to accent their clothing. The dolls depict the Hall of Mirrors at the Amber Fort Palace in Jaipur, India, that was built in 1592 by Maharajah Man Singh. The Hall of Mirrors has so many tiny intricate mirrors, that only one candle was necessary to light up the entire room. To learn more about this culture, read the story.

Link to higher resolution images at ClipPix

Amber Fort Palace: Hall of Mirrors

Reading Level: 5.80

My name is Chitra, and I live near New Delhi, the capital of India. Last summer my family took a trip to Jaipur to see a palace that had been built way back in 1592 by Maharajah Man Singh. We drove to Jaipur, but then we had to ride an elephant up to the top a hill to reach the Amber Fort Palace. On the ride, we could see a Maotha lake and the original city walls. Once we reached the top of the hill, we finally reached the Amber Fort Palace. It was enormous! There were many rooms and passages that had taken over 100 years to build. It was amazing to see how the royalty had lived. I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be a royal princess. By far the most beautiful part of Amber Fort was the Hall of Mirrors. The entire room was covered with millions of tiny mirrors and jewels. The guide told us that when the royal families lived there, they only needed one small candle at night. With that single candle reflecting in all of the tiny intricate mirrors, the entire room would light up!