LAHORE: The restoration of largest mural of the world--- the stunningly beautiful Lahore Fort Picture Wall – would kick off soon, sources in Punjab Archaeology Department told Dawn.

Sources said the dazzling piece of architecture needed restoration and conservation since long.

The 500-meter long wall has geometric design pictures of animals and people that of polo, wrestling, hunting, elephant and bull fights, gladiatorial combat and music.

Its construction was ordered by Emperor Jehnagir in 1624. Although Jehangir died before the paint wall was completed, his son and successor Shah Jehan completed the project in 1632.

Sources told this reporter that those monuments on which pietra dura work had not been done for the last 24 years, was also included in the revised PC-I. Pietra dura is an Italian phrase that means “hard stone,” and usually refers to the technique of creating intricate inlaid pictures from shaped coloured stones. The stones used are usually silicates, including agates, alabaster, amethyst, jade, jasper, lapis lazuli, malachite, onyx, and topaz. The craft, developed in antiquity, originally consisted of shaping stones with small saws, wires and other metal instruments and adding them to decorative objects such as vases or small sculptures.

The Mughals introduced this stone-fixing technique for beauty and elegance. It was introduced to the subcontinent in Shah Jehan’s period when Italian workers taught the technique to local artisans.

The monuments known for their fabulous pietra dura work include Naulakha pavilion in Shish Mahal (Lahore Fort), pillars of Shish Mahal, cenotaph of Jehangir Tomb, Deewan-i-Khas in Lahore Fort, Moti Masjid and a fountain in Shalamar Gardens. None of them has seen any restoration work after defacement.

Sources said the archaeology department in its revised Rs500 million PC-1 for Lahore Fort, a world heritage monument, had included all those remaining works which could not be carried out.

They said Rs300 million had been set aside for conservation of Lahore Fort in 2006 and the project was to be completed by 2014. However, it could not be completed due to the escalating prices of different materials which necessitated a revised PC-1.

They said the revised PC-1 would be approved in July. Major works at Lahore Fort had been completed and the remaining ones such as conservation of picture wall and pietra dura work would be completed in three years.

Published in Dawn, July 1st , 2014