Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c16.s1.t4.1

v2.c16.s1.t4.1

National Museum of India is a museum of arts and archaeology founded by the Indian Government in the capital city of New Delhi on August 15, 1949. It is one of the three national museums in India and reputed for its rich and valuable collections. It receives 7.4 million visitors every year and has about 2,00,000 works of arts, both of Indian and foreign origin covering more than 5,000 years. The roots of National Museum begin with an exhibition of Indian art and artefacts in London in 1947 and 1948, and later, it incorporated art and archaeological works of different historical periods and places. Its building fans out with an atrium inside and it houses 26 permanent galleries. On the first floor there are: 1. Harappan Gallery that has artefacts from Indus Valley Civilisation; 2. Maurya, Shunga and Satvahana Arts Gallery that has terracotta and sculpture of the Maurya and Shunga Dynasties; 3. Buddhist Artefacts Gallery that contains sculptures from the Kushan, Gupta and Pala Dynasties; 4. Hindu Artefacts Gallery that has Hindu sculptures from the Medieval Age; and, 5. Bronze Gallery that has bronze statues of the Chola Dynasty. On the second floor, there are: 1. Manuscripts Gallery with important papers in the Mughal Dynasty; 2. Miniature Paintings Gallery which can be divided into Mughal miniature paintings and Rajasthan miniature paintings; 3. Paintings Gallery that has copies of murals of Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves; and, 4. Central Asian Gallery that has a part of works collected by Sir Aurel Stein from Central Asia and murals from Xinjiang and Dunhuang of China (large works of art are separately collected under Central Asian Archaeology). On third floor are: 1. Textile Gallery; 2. Coins Gallery that has more than 40,000 ancient coins; 3. Weaving and Dyeing Gallery; 4. Arms and Armour Gallery; and, 5. Wood Carving Gallery; 6. Musical Instruments Gallery. Its exhibitions show the outline of cultural development of India and even the entire South Asia. Besides galleries, there are collection rooms, research labs, libraries, lecture rooms and shops.