Thursday 9 June 2016

Let's visit the National Museum, New Delhi

National Museum, New Delhi

National Museum, New Delhi
National Museum New Delhi.jpg
National Museum, New Delhi is located in Delhi
National Museum, New Delhi


Location within Delhi

EstablishedAugust 15, 1949
LocationJanpathNew DelhiIndia
Coordinates28.611811°N 77.219262°E
Collection size206,000 objects
CuratorDr. V K Mathur
Public transit accessDelhi Metro: Udyog Bhawan(Yellow Line)


The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions under the Ministry of CultureGovernment of India. The museum is situated on the corner of Janpath and Maulana Azad Road. The blue–print of theNational Museum had been prepared by the Gwyer Committee set up by the Government of India in 1946. The Museum has around 200,000 works of art, both of Indian and foreign origin, covering over 5,000 years. It remains closed on Mondays.
It also houses the National Museum Institute of History of Arts,Conservation and Museology on the first floor which was established in 1983 and now is a Deemed University since 1989, and runs Masters and Doctoral level courses in History of Art,Conservation and Museology.

HistoryEdit

The roots of the National Museum begin with an exhibition of Indian art and artefacts at theRoyal Academy in London in the winter of 1947-48. 
At the end of the London exhibition, the exhibition curators had decided to display the same collection intact in India before returning the artefacts to their individual museums. 
The Indian exhibition was shown at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in 1949, and was so successful that it led to the decision to form a permanent National Museum. On 15 August 1949, the National Museum was formally inaugurated by the then Governor-General of India, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
At that time, it was decided that until a permanent home could be found for the collection, it would continue to be housed at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The cornerstone of the present museum building was laid by Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, on 12 May 1955, and the building formally opened to the public on 18 December 1960.
Today, the Museum is administered and funded by the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism.

Departments and collectionsEdit

Reception of Museum
The Entrance Corridor of the National Museum housing artefacts on both the sides
Presently, there are several departments in the National Museum.
  • Pre-History Archaeology
  • Archaeology
  • Manuscripts
  • Numismatics & Epigraphy
  • Paintings
  • Arms & Armour
  • Decorative Arts
  • Central Asian Antiquities
  • Pre-Columbian Art
  • Jewellery
  • Anthropology
  • Education
  • Public Relations
  • Publication
  • Conservation
The collections of the National Museum covers nearly all the departments.
 It represents almost all disciplines of art:
Archaeology (Sculptures in Stone, Bronze & Terracota),
 ArmsArmour, 
Central Asian Antiquities,
Pre-Columbian American and Western Art Collections.
The Museum has in its possession over 200,000 works of art, of both Indian and foreign origin, covering more than 5,000 years of the rich cultural heritage of different parts of the world. 
Its rich holdings of various creative traditions and disciplines which represents a unity amidst diversity, an unmatched blend of the past with the present and strong perspective for the future, brings history to life.

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