Eternal India Encyclopedia

ART

Eternal India

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types of trees. Between the name of the tree and the button is a

small square glass case. Press a button and the glass lights up with

a picture of the specified tree.

The metal section has replicas of ancient gold coins, the oldest

dating to the 4th century A.D.

At the entrance of the Popular Science Gallery is a model of the

construction of an Egyptian pyramid. There is also a drawing of a

body explaining how early measures were based on the proportions

of the human body. There are collections of ancient time pieces, oil

lamps, sand hour glasses, a sun dial and a model of Delhi's Jantar

Mantar. Portraits of famous mathematicians as well as a model of

the original Morse code showing the letters of the alphabet and

their signs are also on display.

Red Fort, Delhi :

One of the ancient apartments within the

archeological area of the Red Fort, has been used as a museum for

the display of historical collections of the Mughal period since the

year 1911. A few pieces of furniture, copper utensils, jewellery,

articles of clothing and other miscellaneous objects either found in

the Red Fort after its capture in 1857 or said to have belonged to the

palace, are of interest. The collection of charts, Mughal paintings,

coins, manuscripts, printed books and specimens of calligraphy

afford material for the study of Mughal arts and crafts. Sculptures

found in the clearance of monuments in the fort itself and in and

around Delhi are also on display here.

National Children's Museum, New Delhi

: The National

Children's Museum is geared towards satisfying the interests of

the young. Thus the exhibits include toys from India and abroad,

dolls, animals in stone, bronze and stuffed as well as examples of

children's creative activity in different media.

Shankar's International Dolls Museum, New Delhi

The

International Dolls Museum is exactly what its name implies. It is

a museum devoted to display of dolls from all over India and abroad.

On view are dolls dressed in national costumes, each exquisitely

embellished. There are indigenous rural dolls made by local crafts-

men, sophisticated dolls machine-made at factories, in fact a magi-

cal collection that will delight children as well as enthral the adult.

Art Museum, Madurai

: The museum at the Sri Meenakshi

Temple complex has on display bronze images and icons, musical

instruments, lamps, jewellery and other art objects. Also on view

are paintings and wood carvings.

Gandhi Memorial Museum, New Delhi

: This personal mu-

seum displays the relics of Mahatma Gandhi. There are original

copies of his correspondence as well as photostats of his letters

and the journals he published. These are further supplemented by

microfilms and a number of photographs which depict the various

aspects of his invaluable contribution to modern India.

Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay

: This private in-

stitution was established in 1883. A unique centre, its activities are

manifold and involve publications like the Journal of Bombay Natu-

ral History Society, regular newsletters and books on Indian ani-

mals, birds and nature. The exhibits include replicas and specimens

of vertebrates and insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians

and fishes, all from the Indian subcontinent. However, the BNHS is

not open to the public and interested visitors should seek prior per-

mission for admission.

State Museum and Zoo, Thrissur (Trichur)

: This multi

purpose exhibition established in 1885, has a significant natural

history section. This includes zoological, botanical and geological

specimens.

Also on view are artefacts related to the art and industrial crafts

of the region, archaeologial antiquities and old coins.

ART GALLERIES

Chitra Art Gallery, Trivandrum:

This Government-sponsored

gallery acquires and preserves purely Indian art, Indo-European

etchings and woodcuts. It has modern Indian contemporary art,

murals and around 665 books.

Karnataka

Government

Museum

and

Venkatappa

Art

Gallery, Bangalore

: Established in 1865, the museum houses

sculpture from the Hoysala and Gandhara periods. Also on view are

antiquities from Mohenjodaro and terracotta from Mathura.

The painting section includes miniature paintings from the Ra-

jasthani and Pahari schools. There are also traditional glass and

other paintings from the Mysore school. Among the miscellaneous

items are ivory carvings and inlay work, sandalwood caskets and

other objects and arms and armoury.

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi

Government-

sponsored museum acquires and preserves works (paintings etc)

of modern art. It organises and holds exhibitions, develops educa-

tion and documentation centres. It also organises lectures, confer-

ences, seminars etc., encouraging study and research on art, pub-

lishes picture post cards, colour reproductions and greeting cards. It

contains 4,000 books, periodicals „on art, photographs and other

audio-visual material.

Thanjavur Art Gallery, Thanjavur

: The former palace of the

Nayakas of Thanjavur, viceroys of the Vijayanagara rulers and later

hereditary rulers, is a wonderful and extravagant piece of architec-

ture, built in 1600. The huge enclosed compound encompasses a

complex which includes the Art Gallery, the Saraswati Library and

the Sangeetha Sabha or Music Hall.

Fescoes, painted a hundred years ago in the glass painting style

of Tanjore adorn the walls of the Durbar Hall, while on a stage

stands the marble statue of the Maratha King, Serfogi.

A gigantic tower, the arsenal, decorated with bands of arches

forms the external facade. One enters into a hall which is the

sculpture gallery where examples of south Indian stone sculpture

dating from the Pallava to the Nayak period are exhibited. Some of

the unique pieces are a Gaja Sambhara, the slayer of demons

(Chola) an early Pallava Brahma and a huge Buddha from the

Vijayanagara period.

Victoria Memorial Museum, Calcutta

: The impressive Vic-

toria Memorial houses a museum which is a tribute to the British

Colonial period. Visitors are greeted by a life size statue of young

Victoria by Sir Thomas Brock. There are enormous oil paintings in

the Royal Gallery, illustrating episodes from Queen Victoria's long,

eventful life and reign, and a large painting titled The Entry of King

Edward VII into Jaipur in 1876, by a Russian artist.

Also on a display are books on the Raj, sculpture of Clive and

other Governor Generals and a superb collection of paintings and

prints by William Hodges and Thomas and William Daniell, who

specialised in picturesque views of India. The other important

paintings are by Johann Zoffany, Tilly Kettle, Samuel Davis' water

colours and Fraser's drawings of the Himalayas.

Also refer

"A Great Destination"

section 'X' for more information

museums.