Museums Rajasthan
Rajasthan»Museums
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Rajasthan the land of massive forts, sprawling palaces intricately carved
temples of colourful tribes and brave warriors of unrivalled form of arts
and crafts, unique dance and music traditions is changing at a rapid pace.
Its vast network of museums in large and small towns, archaeological sites
and the recently opened museums and art galleries in the palaces of
erstwhile rulers of old states help to preserve this great heritage for
posterity. |
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Ajmer (Government Museum) |
Situated in the heart of the old city and
close to the railway station the museum is housed in the beautiful fort
and palace built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1570. The Museum was
started in 1908 by the Government of India with the object of collecting
and preserving many unique objects of antiquarian interest which were
lying unattended for and scattered all over Rajasthan. |
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Alwar (Government Museum) |
Housed in the old City Palace, it has a
unique collection of arms, bidri work, lacquered and ivory work, musical
instruments, stuffed animals beautiful brass and pottery works from Jaipur,
Multan, Bengal and Ceylon, miniature paintings and Persian and Sanskrit
manuscripts. The museum is divided into three major sections, each housed
in a big hall. The first section contains various archaeological finds
chiefly sculptures and inscriptions from the region. Items presented by
the ruler of the former Alwar state include mounted skins of wild animals
like tiger, leopard and lion shot by them during their local and foreign
excursions.
The second section is the most important one as it contains various
manuscripts in Persian including Gulistan of Sadias as well as marvellous
paintings of Mughal and Rajput schools. The paintings have been further
divided into sub-styles. The third section of the museum contains the
armoury of state rulers. Various kind of shields, swords, pistols, rifles,
daggers and other items are on display. |
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Jaipur (Archaeological Museum) |
Located in the Dil-e-Aaram gardens, of Amer,
the ancient capital of Jaipur, established in 1949. Prior to this, the
excavated material from Rairh, Bairat, Sambhar, Nagar and the sculptures
and epigraphs collected from various sites in the erstwhile Jaipur State
were housed at Vidyahar Gardens in Purana Ghat. In July 1949 the entire
collection was transferred to Dil-e-Aaram garden, part of the old palace
at Amer. An Art Gallery was inaugurated in 1992 in this complex. The
museum is divided into three sections:-
(1) Archaeological section, which contains material recovered from
excavations at Rairh, Bairat, Sambhar, Nagar, Pamvar, Bansi and Virat
Nagar.
(2) Sculpture section.
(3) Epigraphy section. |
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Bikaner (Fort Museum, Junagarh fort) |
Ganga Mahal, the imposing halls added by
Maharaja Ganga Singh, now houses the Fort Museum. It contains a fine
collection of antique rajput weaponry, jade handle daggers, camel hide
dhals (shields) and inlaid handguns and camel guns. Other important
objects include a pair of drums belonging to Jambhoji - the saint who
predicted the foundation of the dynasty by Rao Bika for 450 years.
Photographs and items of personal use by Maharaja Ganga Singh and
miniatures are also on view. |
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Chittaugarh (Fateh Prakash Palace Museum) |
It has a great collection of sculptures. The
section devoted to weapons, daggers, armoury consists of old shields,
helmets, axes, farsa, knives and soldier’s uniforms. The clay models of
local tribes with their traditional outfits have also been displayed in a
room. The entire palatial museum has been divided in various sections like
archaeology, coins, art gallery, wood crafts of Bassi village, weapons and
tribal life. |
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Jaipur (Government Central Museum) |
Located in the center of the sprawling Ram
Niwas Bagh, this is the oldest museum in the state. The building was
designed by Colonel Sir Swinton Jacob. It was built in 1876 when king
Edward VII visited India as the Prince of Wales. It was opened to public
in 1886. The various sections represented in the museum are -- art and
industry (metal, wood and pottery), armoury, textiles, carpets, paintings,
geology, zoology, botany and toys & dolls. There is a Persian garden
carpet of a fabulous cost obtained by Mirza Raja Jai Singh I from Shah
Abbas of Persia. It contains various sketches of a Persian garden with
running water streams. There are miniature paintings of various
sub-schools of Rajasthan. A glimpse of the land and the people of
Rajasthan is presented through well planned dioramas.
From 1959 onwards the various galleries along the ground floor of the
museum were completely reorganized and renovated. The central gallery is
devoted to Rajasthani music and dance. Original musical instruments, both
classical and folk, are displayed in their functional positions. Specimens
include typical folk instruments like Masak, Kamayacha, Dadh, Madal,
Khanjari, Sitari, Bankia, Pungi, Algoja, Iktara etc. |
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Maharaja Sawai Man Singh (II) Museum |
Located within the City Palace complex and
nestled amidst old buildings, temples and the palaces quarters, this
museum was founded in 1959 by Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. The exhibits
consist of the ancestral collections built up by the successive rulers of
Amer and Jaipur, and is presently run by a public charitable trust.
However, the collection remained exclusive and was shown only to selective
visitors and dignitaries with the special permission of the Maharaja. In
1959, this private museum consisting of the Pothikhana Silehkhana was
thrown open to public and a new textile and costume gallery was added to
it.
The Art Gallery is housed in the Diwan-i-Aam constructed for holding
important state functions. A variety of objects - miniature paintings,
illustrated manuscripts, decorated book covers, palm-leaf, old printed
books, gigantic mughal carpets, gold and silver Takhi-e-Rawan (moveable
throne), palanquins and carriages with rich embroidered velvet coverings
are displayed in this gallery. The museum has a splendid collection of
miniature paintings including two unique and priceless manuscripts of the
Persian translation of the two Hindu epics, of the Ramayana and
Mahabharata. |
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Jaisalmer (Folkore Museum) |
For anyone interested in seeing the culture
of Jaisalmer on display through the ages, the Lok Sanskritik, Sangrahalaya
or the Museum of Folk Culture situated on the bank of Gadsisar lake in
Mehar Bagh garden is a must. This museum was established in 1984 by
N.K.Sharma, a local connoisseur. This well organised museum is divided
into six sections and has a rich collections of paintings, photographs,
costumes, hairstyles and jewellery, utility articles of rural life, camel
and horse decorations, fossils, ornamental arches, as well as articles
connected with folk and cultural lifestyles. |
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Jodhpur (Government Museum) |
Located in the Umaid gardens on high court
road, it has a large and fairly interesting collection. There are many
stuffed animals, including a number of desert birds in two glass cases,
each with a thorn bush. The military section includes cumbersome wooden
biplane, models and an extraordinary brass battleship. |
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Kota (Government Museum) |
Originally located in the Hawa Mahal just
above the entrance of the fort, it has now been shifted to the Brij Vilas
Palace and has a new display and decor. The museum possesses several
hundred sculptures from different cultural centers of the region.
Generally, the sculptures belong to the period from the 8th to the 12th
century. Sculptures worth mentioning are Shesh Sayi Vishnu form Badoli (Chittaurgarh),
Jain image of Vardhaman from Baran and a dancing pair from Ramgarh. A few
inscriptions are displayed in the museum. Yupa pillars from Badwa are very
important specimens of 3rd century AD showing the popularity of Vedic
rites. Coins discovered from various sites of Kota region are preserved
and displayed in the numismatic section. Most of the coins belong to the
Mughal period and a few of them to the Rajput. Several miniature paintings
of Bundi, Kota, Nathdwara and Jaipur schools are preserved in the museum.
Paintings of Shrimad Bhagawata of the early 17th century are most
attractive from the point of view of workmanships. This section contains a
number of manuscripts in Sanskrit. They include Vedic, Astronomical and
Astrological works. Some Hindi manuscripts are also persevered. |
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Udaipur (City Palace Museum) |
The huge City Palace, towering over the
Pichola Lake, is the largest palace complex in Rajasthan. Construction of
this palace was started by Maharana Udai Singh, the city's founder. The
main part of the palace is now preserved as a museum with a large and
varied collection. It was established in 1890 and is one of the earliest
museums of the state. The museum includes the Mor Chowk with its beautiful
peacocks in mosaics, the favourite Rajasthani bird. The Manka (Ruby) Mahal
has glass and porcelain figures while Krishna Vilas has a remarkable
collection of miniatures. In the Bari Mahal, there is a fine central
garden. More paintings can be seen in the Zanana Mahal. The Moti Mahal has
beautiful mirror work and the Chini Mahal is covered in ornamental tiles.
This museum has the armour of Maharana Pratap and drums and bugles of the
ruler of Mewar, Rana Sanga. |
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Government Museum |
The Government Museum Of Udaipur was
originally located in Gulab Bagh and was called Victoria Hall Museum. It
has now been shifted to Karan Vilas Mahal within the precincts of the City
Palace. This museum highlights the culture and heritage of Rajasthan
through its extensive collection of excavated item inscriptions,
sculptures, paintings and handicrafts. The sculpture gallery, spread over
a big hall, contains some unique and valuable specimens - Indriya Matrika
from Jagat (5th-6th century A.D.); Kumari-Matrika from Kumbhalgarh; Shiva
head from Kalyanpur; Jain Kuber from Bansi (8th Century A.D.). The most
remarkable collection is that of more than nine thousand miniature
paintings of Mewar school from the period of Maharaja Jagat Singh
(1628-1652 A.D.) to Maharaja Swaroop Singh (1842-1861 AD).It has a natural
history section called the Children Gallery which has models of animals
like tiger, deer, etc. The museum also has a collection of colourful
Mewari turbans. |
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Shilp Gram |
It is located on Fateh Sagar, 6 kms
from the City Palace. A village has been created with 26 replica huts. This
museum has a wide collection of folk art and it also gives a glimpse of the
tribal life of Rajasthan.
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