| Government
Museum Mathura
In the year 1874 the museum
at Mathura was established, simply as a storehouse.
Selections of the better sculpture were made and
removed to larger, more essential museums like the
Indian Museum in London. A new museum, in the present
location, was built in the 1930s, and the sculptures
installed are to some amount in chronological order.
The current museum building is constructed from
the characteristic pink sandstone of Mathura. The
building is octagonal, approximately ring shaped,
in plan, with an internal courtyard garden.
Location
: Located on the western bank of
river Yamuna |
The
Archaeological Museum
The museum has a superior
collection of ancient Indian terracottas, some
found in excavations in and around Varanasi itself.
The majority of them date back to the Mauryan,
Sunga and Gupta periods. There are some damaged,
sculptured heads of the Buddha that are almost
skull-like, depicting a stage in Buddha's meditation
during which he practiced cruel penance in search
of the path to truth and enlightenment.
Location
: 10 kms from Varanasi |
The
Bharat Kala Bhavan
The museum has an excellent
collection of ancient Indian terracottas, some
found in excavations in and around Varanasi itself.
Most of them date back to the Mauryan, Sunga and
Gupta periods; a little belong to prehistoric
times, unearthed at the Indus Valley sites. Indus
Valley terracottas have a special charm; they
are often tiny - only two or three centimeters
in height. Other bigger ones belong to the Gupta
period. There is a Gupta sculpture of the fifth
century, from the Varanasi region, of the little
chief of Shiva's army sitting astride a peacock
whose glorious tail spreads out like a canopy
at the back. The Dancing Ganesh is poised for
movement, his foot prepared for action. Alasa
Kanya is a languorous woman, yearning with aspiration.
Location
: Situated bank of the Ganga |
State
Museum - Lucknow
The museum in Lucknow once
situated in the historic Choti Chattar Manzil
and the Lai Baradari, erstwhile coronation hall
of the nawabs of Avadh, moved in 1963 to its new
location, a modern three storeyed structure situated
incongruously in the Prince of Wales Zoological
Gardens. The initial collection centered on the
arts of Avadh and objects associated to the customs,
habits and mythology of India. Slowly, it expanded
to include excavated antiquities from Piparahawa,
Kapilavastu, where the Buddha grew up.
Location
: Banarasibagh, Lucknow |
Allahabad
Museum
In the year 1947 Allahabad
Museum was formally inaugurated by India's first
Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The collection,
both reserve and on display, are large and varied
and spread across 18 galleries. The objects on
view include ancient and Indus Valley antiquities,
stone sculpture, terracotta, bronzes, seals, beads,
coins, inscriptions, miniature paintings, Buddhist
thankas, textiles. Weapons, medieval and land
grants, documents and the personal effects of
Nehru and material relating to the freedom movement.
The Museum has been divided into a various sections
like Archaeology, Coins, Art Gallery, Wood Crafts
of Bassi village, Weapons and Tribal Life.
Location
: Located at the junction of the
holy rivers Ganga and the Yamuna |
|
