|
All the items (over forty-three thousand of them) displayed in this museum belonged to one man - Salar Jung III, making it the largest one man collection of antiques in the world. Nawab Mir Yusuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III (Died March 2, 1949), was the Prime Minister to Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, Nizam VII, the then ruler of Hyderabad.
He extended the collections that he received as heirlooms from his father and grandfather (Nawab Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung I). The collections include artifacts dating back to the first century AD.
 The priceless collection include rare paintings, statues, (Chola) scriptures, manuscripts, precious stones, European glass, Persian carpets, Chinese porcelain and jade, ivory, bronze, jewelled armour and weapons and modern Indian paintings.
The clock room is another memorable gallery with more than three hundred clocks. They range from the ancient Sandiaers in the form of obelisks to modern huge pieces from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; from tiny time-pieces needing magnifying glasses to view, to stately grandfather clocks from Europe. The central piece of attraction here is a musical clock that continues to draw big crowds is the one by Cook and Kelvy of England - a mechanical wonder, this clock has the feature of a toy watchman emerging on the hour to beat a melodious gong to indicate time.
There is also a collection of captivating sculptures of Hindu and other deities that includes Vaishnavi (made from sandstone, eighth century, Chola period), Ananthasayi Vishnu (Warangal, Kakatiya period), Bodhisatva in Dhyana mudra (meditation)(first century, UP), Ganesh idol installed on a lotus pedestal made of white marble (nineteenth century), etc.
The collection of paintings date back to the period of Emperor Akbar, the Mughal king renowned for his secular outlook. A few unique and exquisite pieces are the scenes from Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagvat Purana, from Aurangabad, Deccan Bundelkhand and Kishengarh.
An entire section is devoted to children with birds, animals, puppets, dolls, toys and a make believe city - the Museum Nagar - complete with a scenic railway, the platforms, staircases. Marble statuettes of children in various moods evoke childhood memories in one and all. The SnowWhite and the seven dwarfs are bound to slow down the children. Apart from this, scenes from village life, marriage, agricultural fields, military and war can inspire children while educating them of various cultural practices.
The most notable and remarkable artifacts in the collection are
- the statues of the Veiled Rebecca, a marble carving that shows the woman's features through her diaphanous veil. (Purchased in Rome, 1876)
- the back-to-back statue of an arrogant Mephistopheles, an evil character from the German drama, "Dr Faust" and a demure Margaretta,
- a turban and a chair of Tipu Sultan and
- a diamond encrusted sword that once belonged to Aurangazeb.
All this collection is displayed in thirty-five small halls. The museum could do well in putting more efforts to increase the quality of information about the exhibits.
The entire collection pays obeisance to the artistic talents of mankind.
Schedule: 10:00 to 17:00 hours. Closed on Fridays.
Near By Places |
