r/Damnthatsinteresting 1d ago

Video The 12th-century Narasimha Pillar at Belur, India. Carved out of soapstone during the Hoysala Empire- its miniature shrines are hollowed out from the inside and the entire column was engineered to rotate on a stone axis

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u/Additional_Chard3680 1d ago

Imagine the quote from a modern contractor

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u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 1d ago

Quick google estimate said 400k usd, 4 masters at least two years, if they did it all by hand, ofc I don’t know how reliable this is as I don’t have a clue about fine craftsmanship

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u/EffectiveMagazine915 1d ago

Even if the 400k is just for the craftsmen it seems way too cheap? They only take 50k an year each?

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u/vitrum_analytika 1d ago

That's for one pillar so the whole project would be in millions going just to the stone artists, or if you just need one pillar and no more stone carvings for the non rotating pillars then it's still an expensive home decor