Indian Museum
About Indian Museum
The Indian Museum (formerly called Imperial Museum of Calcutta) is a grand museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the ninth oldest museum in the world and the oldest, as well as the largest museum in Asia, by size of collection. It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, on 2 February 1814. The founder curator was Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist.
The museum houses an extensive collection of 2.5 million artifacts, including rare antiques, armor, ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings. It has six sections comprising thirty five galleries of cultural and scientific artifacts namely Indian art, archaeology, anthropology, geology, zoology and economic botany.
The Indian Museum is regarded as "the beginning of a significant epoch initiating the socio-cultural and scientific achievements of the country. It is otherwise considered as the beginning of the modernity and the end of medieval era". It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
Gallery
History
The Indian Museum originated from the Asiatic Society of Bengal which was created by Sir William Jones in 1784. The concept of having a museum arose in 1796 from members of the Asiatic Society as a place where man-made and natural objects collected could be kept, cared for and displayed.
On 2 February 1814, Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist, wrote to the council of the Asiatic Society for the formation of a museum out of his own collection and that of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, volunteering his service as a Curator wherein he proposed five sections—an archaeological, ethnological, a technical section and a geological and zoological one. The council readily agreed and the Museum was created, with Wallich named the Honorary Curator and then Superintendent of the Oriental Museum of the Asiatic Society.
The First Indian Museum Act was passed in 1866 and the foundation of the Indian Museum at its present site laid in 1867. In 1875 the present building on Chowringee Road (presently Jawaharlal Nehru Road), designed by W L Granville in consultation with Sir Thomas Holland, was completed.
Collections
The museum has rare collections of antiques, armor and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies and Mughal paintings. Many rare and unique specimens, both Indian and trans-Indian, relating to humanities and natural sciences, are preserved and displayed in the galleries of these sections.
Egyptian Collection: The museum exhibits an Egyptian mummy, which is about 4,000 years old and is currently being restored.
Indian Collection: The large collection of ancient and medieval Indian artifacts include the complete railings and gateways of the Buddhist stupa from Bharhut. The Bharhut panels are unique in that they are inscribed in the Brahmi script. The museum has a collection of the remains of the Amaravati Stupa. Also preserved are Buddha's relics, a copy of the Lion Capital of Ashoka (whose four-lion symbol became the official emblem of the Republic of India), fossil skeletons of prehistoric animals, rare antiques, and a collection of meteorites.
Natural History: The museum has four galleries dedicated to natural history, namely the botanical, insect, mammal and bird galleries. It also contains prehistoric artifacts such as the huge skeleton of a dinosaur.
Key Features
- •Ninth oldest museum in the world, established in 1814
- •Largest museum in Asia with 2.5 million artifacts
- •Six sections with 35 galleries covering art, archaeology, anthropology, geology, zoology, and botany
- •Rare Egyptian mummy (4,000 years old)
- •Complete railings and gateways from Bharhut Stupa
- •Copy of Lion Capital of Ashoka (India's national emblem)
- •Dinosaur skeleton and prehistoric artifacts
Visiting Information
Opening Hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Closed on Mondays
Location
27, Chowringhee Road (Jawaharlal Nehru Road), Park Street, Kolkata, West Bengal 700016
Public Transit: Park Street Metro Station