Government Museum, Chennai , India

Government Museum, established in 1851, is located in Egmore, Chennai. Known as the Madras Museum, the museum is the second oldest museum in India, the first being the Indian Museum at Kolkata, started in 1814. It is also one of the largest museums in South Asia. It is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It has the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe. Many of the buildings within the Museum campus are over 100 years old. Among them, the colossal Museum Theatre is one of the most impressive. The National Art Gallery is also present in the museum premises. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, it houses rare works of artists such a Raja Ravi Varma.

Location

The museum is located in what is known as the Pantheon complex, or "public assembly rooms." It is located on the Pantheon Road in E

gmore,Chennai. The road on which the museum is located too takes its name from the complex.

National Art Gallery A fine specimen for the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, this building is constructed in red sandstone. Not only the treasures of art works found inside but also the building itself is interesting, for it is filled with intricate carvings. Some of the listed artifacts in the national art gallery are 16th to 18th century Mughal paintings, Deccan art of the 17th century and the displays of bronzes from 10th and 13th centuries and handicrafts of various periods. Government Museum, Chennai is a multi-purpose State Government Museum located in Egmore, which is the heart of the city, spreading to an area of 16.25 acres of land. Six independent buildings in this Museum campus has 46 galleries. Timings: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, Fee: For foreigners $5, Adult Rs 15/- and Children Rs 10/-, School concession Rs 3/- Holiday: Friday ,Ph: 28193238/ 28193778

History

In August 1778, the governor of Madras granted 43 acres for an estate to a civil servant, who, subsequently in 1793, assigned the grounds to a committee of 24 which then regulated the public amusements in the city. In 1821, the committee sold the main house and central garden space to E. S. Moorat, an Armenian merchant who, in turn, sold it back to the government in 1830. The government first used the buildings and the grounds as the collector's "Cutcherry" and later for the "Central Museum."The museum was originally established in a building on College Road in Nungambakkam in the year 1851 and was shifted to the present site in 1854