Councillor John was at the museum on June 3 2006 to launch a day-long Gateway to India free drop-in event.
“We are celebrating the return of the Gate, which we are very proud to have,” she said. “There are some very special connections between India and Brighton and Hove.”
“I think it is marvellous to have the Gate here. It is part of the heritage of the City, which is what we are selling the whole time,” said David Smith, Mayor of Brighton and Hove.
Although carved and assembled by Indian craftsmen, the Gate is a hybrid construction designed by two Englishmen, Colonel Samuel Swinton Jacob and Surgeon-Major Thomas Holbein Hendley, combining elements found in Mughal and Rajput buildings.
The inscription on the front, in English, Sanskrit and Latin, is the motto of the Maharajas of Jaipur – ‘where virtue is, there is victory’. The Latin inscription on the back reads ‘from the east comes light’.
Made for the Colonial and Indian exhibition of 1886, the Gate has been at the Museum since 1926, but was dismantled in 2004 for refurbishment by the Green Oak Carpentry Company and members of the Royal Pavilion, Libraries & Museums Brighton conservation team.
It was never intended to be erected outside, despite being made of teak, the most durable and impervious timber in the world. Gordon Grant, senior conservator at the Pavilion, explained that gilding is very appropriate outside:
“Gold is one of those materials that can withstand all attempts to tarnish it. Gilding is finely beaten gold metal, and it is a false economy to think that you can get the same effect with bronze paint.”
“It is something along the lines of a quarter of a millionth of an inch thick, although for external use we use slightly thicker gold, simply because of the wearing effect of the elements on it.”
So it is worth its weight in gold? Absolutely!
