Government Museum, Bangalore

Government Museum - Bangalore


Government Museum

Attractions

  • Relics from Indus Valley civilization.
  • Artifacts of Neolithic period.
  • Sculpture section
  • Painting section
  • Geology section
  • Numismatics section
  • Coins, stones, jewellery
  • Miniature paintings
  • Inscriptions - Halmidi, Begur, Atakur
  • Venkatappa Art Gallery

Government Museum

  founded in 1865 by Edward G. Balfour, a medical officer and functioned at the Cantonment's jail building until the current premises of the museum in Kasturba Road ( then Sydney Road) was opened in 1877. The main building was designed by Col. Richard Hieram Sankey, the erstwhile Chief Engineer of Mysore State. The museum comprises of two exhibition floors, which have been further divided into eighteen galleries. These galleries comprise of different sections like geology, natural history, sculpture, art and numismatics. The rich collection of the museum comprises of ancient coins and art, along with relics from the Indus valley civilization, especially Mohenjodaro, Halebid and Vijayanagar. Many relics preserved in the museum are as much as 5000 years old.

The museum houses sculpture from the Hoysala, Nolamba and Gandhara periods. Also on view are antiquities from Mohenjodaro and terracotta from Mathura. The painting section includes miniature paintings from the Rajasthani and Pahari schools, besides some rare original Mysore and Tanjore art.

Government Museum of Bangalore also houses prehistoric artifacts, belonging to the Neolithic period. These artifacts were unearthed while excavations were being carried out at Chandravalli. Other attractions are stones, coins, jewellary, miniature paintings, inscriptions etc.

There are some exhibits that speak of battle between Tipu sultan and Britishers. There is a slab within the museum which has 12 Persian couplets, brought here from Tipu's Palace.

The

Venkatappa Art Gallery

,  a wing of the Government museum, has about 600 paintings.

K. Venkatappa, born in 1887 to a family of court painters; Venkatappa was also a musician. On the ground floor, his works dsplayed include a panoramic view of the Ooty Lake, view from Church Hill - Ooty, Nilgiri Mountains, Kodaikanal, and Sunrise in Ooty, a painting on Monsoon and many sketches.

On the first floor, there are paintings of M. F. Hussain, Vasudev, Hanumaiah, Hariram, Rekha Rao, Yusuf Arakkal and N. S. Bendre and many other renowned artists. On the same floor is a section dedicated to C. P. Rajaram's exquisite wood carvings. The second floor is the Hebbar Section solely dedicated to K.K Hebbar.

Government Museum
Venkatappa Art Gallery
Travel info:
Tel : +91 80 2286 4483
Timings: 9 am to 6 pm
Closed on :
Wednesdays, public holidays
Location : Kasturba Road
Bangalore, INDIA
Accessible by BMTC buses
Transit Point:
Kasrturba Rd bus stop