State Museum, Lucknow is a prominent museum located in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, India. The museum is currently located in the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens, Banarasi Bagh, Lucknow. The museum was established in 1863 from the collection of Colonel Saunders Alexius Abbott, and was given the status of ‘Provincial Museum’ before being renamed the ‘State Museum’ in 1950.
The collection housed in the museum consists of objects from the prehistoric period, Bronze Age, plaster casts of famous figurines from the Indus Valley Civilization, as well as a rich collection of numismatics, paintings, manuscripts and textiles....
History
The museum began in 1863 with a collection of artifacts that were housed in the building of the Choti Chattar Manzil in Qaisar Bagh by the then commissioner of Lucknow, Colonel Abbott. This repository functioned as a municipal institution in its early days until 1883, when it was given the status of a ‘Provincial Museum’. The museum was shifted to a larger space in the erstwhile coronation hall of the Nawabs of Awadh, Lal Baradari in June, 1884.
A special Archeological section for the museum was established in 1909 in the premises of the old Canning College in Qaiser Bagh. The museum was formally organized in the same year with the constitution of a Management Committee.
Some important figures who also contributed to the formation of the museum from the colonial period include Mr. A.O. Hume, who was an important member of the management committee. In 1867 the first superintendent of the museum was Emanuel Bonavia, a surgeon. The first curator of the museum, archeologist Dr. A.A. Fuhrer was appointed on 30 March 1885. Fuhrer's expertise and interest in the field of archeology was reflected in his first contribution to the collection of the museum, excavation at Kankali Mound at Mathura in three consecutive periods— 1888–89, 1889–90 and 1890–91. All the excavated antiquities recovered from the site were relocated to the erstwhile Provincial Museum.
The museum undertook other important excavations including one at Ahichchatra in 1891–92, the 1912–12 at Kasia and subsequent excavations at Indor Khera, Sankisa, Unchgaon and Astabhuja. These excavations and subsequent collections from the same contributed to the important Archeological section of the museum.
The museum was renamed the ‘State Museum’ in 1950, with an expanded collection that necessitated better organization and a separate space. The museum was eventually shifted to an independent building in Banarasibagh. The building is located in the middle of the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens (formerly the Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens) and the new museum premises were inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963.
Collection
The museum has a varied collection ranging from archeological to painting and a rich numismatic collection. These items are housed in specialized galleries based on the type of collection and display a select few objects. The history of the museum is rooted in practices of colonial collecting, with the vast number of archeological expeditions that had been undertaken by the museum corresponding to the primary collection of the institution. The archeological gallery therefore becomes an important part of the museum and is highlighted as a result of it being a primary and vast collection.
Archeological Collection
The archeological collection is considered to be the central most in the museum. It consists of antiquities from the prehistoric period, the Bronze Age, plaster casts of famous figurines from the Indus Valley, clay seals, inscriptions, pottery and other miscellaneous objects including bricks and weights. This collection is divided into two galleries, with the first containing early, medieval and late Stone Age implements from the Uttar Pradesh and Sindh area. The first archeological gallery includes objects of the Bronze Age from the Doab area, Mathura grey schist sculptures and friezes as well as sandstone sculptures, sculptures from the Mauryan dynasty and Sunga dynasty, Kushana period terracotta sculptures, terracottas from the Gupta period with significant objects being the inscribed clay tablets of Shravasti and Bhitargaon.
The second archeological gallery includes Buddhist sculptures, narrative friezes, decapitated images of Bodhisattva, and an inscription bearing Buddhist sculpture from Shravasti. It displays examples of Gandharan art, such as a frieze of Buddha giving a sermon, and the head of Buddha.