Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c16.s1.t5.4

v2.c16.s1.t5.4

In early 1968, its collections were moved to the present site, and provided with descriptions in English, Urdu, Hindi and Telugu. It is a semicircular four-storey building, with 38 galleries on the first and second floor. On the first floor, Gallery 3 is for Indian textile and bronze, with treasures such as bronze statue of Vishnu, the founder of Jainism Mahavira, nine-head cobra, Shiva as Nataraja and Vinayaka in the late Pallava Dynasty and Cola Dynasty in 9ᵗʰ century CE; Chamber A of Gallery 3 is for Indian sculpture, including a column with a decree of Asoka inscribed on it, and stone sculpture in the Sunga and Gupta Dynasty. Gallery 4 is for minor Indian art, mainly including temples’ artefacts carved from sandalwood, yellow sandal and other wood of fine quality. Gallery 6 is for printed, dyed articles and glassware. Gallery 9 and 10 are for kid toys; Gallery 12 is for animal specimens. Gallery 14 is for ivory sculpture. Gallery 16 is for arms, including a great variety and quantity of ancient weapons. Gallery 15 is for metal utensils. Chamber A of Gallery 17 is for modern Indian paintings, including those by important Indian painters in the 19^th and 20^th century CE, such as Ravi Varma, Abanindranath Tagore and Sunil Prakash. Gallery 18 is for Indian miniatures, including Mughal and Rajasthan miniatures and palm-leaf manuscript of Jainism. On the second floor, Gallery 20 is for European art. Gallery 25 is for jade, including fascinating Indian and Chinese Jade. Gallery 26 is for European Bronze. Gallery 28 is for clocks. Gallery 29 is for manuscripts, with more than 7,500 manuscripts in ancient Persian, Arabic and Urdu, including a manuscript of *Koran* from the 9^th century and a manuscript of *Koran* from the 13^th century signed by Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Gallery 31 is for Far East porcelain, with Chinese celadon shipped to Europe in the 13^th century. Gallery 32 is for Kashmir. Gallery 33 is for Far East Sculpture, with the birth of Buddha and other Buddhist sculptures.