Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery

Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery
Front view of the museum
Established1894; 132 years ago (1894)
LocationKamatibaug, Dak Bunglaw, Sayajiganj, Vadodara, Gujarat – 390020
TypeArt museum
FounderSayajirao Gaekwad III
ArchitectRobert Chisholm
Websitebarodamuseum.gujarat.gov.in

The Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery is an archeological and natural history museum in Baroda (Vadodara), Gujarat, India. It was built in 1894, modelled after the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science Museum in London.

History

The museum during the British rule in India (c. 1890)
Baroda Museum and picture gallery building
Ivory boat from Murshidabad, 19th century

The museum is located in Kamatibaug, Dak Bunglaw, Sayajiganj, Vadodara, Gujarat. It was established during the reign of the Gaekwad dynasty of Baroda State. Major Mant, in association with R. F. Chisholm, who refined some of Mant's designs into examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture, designed the building. The museum complex covers 113 acres.

The museum in a 1994 postage stamp of India
Interior of the museum
Museum gallery

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III who belonged to the Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas, founded the museum in 1887. The museum building was completed in 1894, when it opened to the public. Construction of the art gallery commenced in 1908 and was completed in 1914, but did not open until 1921 as the First World War delayed transfer of pieces from Europe intended for the gallery. The Picture Gallery building was added to the museum in 1910.

Collection

Archaeological garden
Musical instruments
Stuffed leopard

The collection holds a rich collection of art, sculpture, ethnography and ethnology. The picture gallery offers a collection of originals by famous British painters J. M. W. Turner and John Constable and many others. The Egyptian mummy and skeleton of a baby blue whale are major attractions. Other treasures include the famous Akota Bronzes dating to the fifth century, a collection of Mughal miniatures, a full-fledged gallery of Tibetan art, Indian handicrafts, artefacts and coins.

Statue of Lord Ganesha
Objects in the open air gallery
Antique weapons

Timings

The museum is open from 10:30 am till 5:00 pm except for government holidays.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gaekwad, Fatesinghrao (1989). Sayajirao of Baroda: The Prince and the Man. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-0-86132-214-5.
  2. ↑ Rice, Stanley (1931). Life of Sayaji Rao III, Maharaja of Baroda. Oxford university press 1931. ASIN B00085DDFG.
  3. ↑ Baroda Museum, NE view. Archived 20 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. British Library.
  4. ↑ Morley, Ian (2008). British provincial civic design and the building of late-Victorian and Edwardian cities, 1880–1914. Edwin Mellen Press. p. 278.
  5. ↑ Daniel, S. J. (1903). "A Brief History of the Madras School of Arts". In Clibborn, John; Radice, C. A.; Enthoven, Reginald Edward; Westcott, Foss (eds.). Report on Industrial Education Part II Proceedings of Conferences (PDF). Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing. pp. 171–174. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Baroda Museum And Picture Gallery — Vadodara". gujarattourism.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Vadodara Municipal Corporation". vmc.gov.in. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery". Vadodara Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2023.

22°18′42″N 73°11′20″E / 22.3118°N 73.1888°E / 22.3118; 73.1888