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{{Short description|Museum in Bengaluru, India}}
{{use Indian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Government Museum, Bengaluru
| image = Government_Museum_Banglore_305.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| caption = Front [[façade]] of the museum
| established = 18 August 1865<ref name="hindumushist">{{cite news|title=Nuggets of heritage stored for posterity|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/article2994261.ece|date=14 March 2012|author=S. K. Aruni|location=Bangalore|work=The Hindu|access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref>
| collection = Sculpture, old jewellery, coins and inscriptions.
| area =
| key_holdings = [[Halmidi inscription]]
| location = Kasturba Road, [[Bengaluru]], India
| coordinates = {{Coord|12.9747|77.5958}}
| visitors = 90,000 per annum<ref name="relic">{{cite news|title=When a museum turns into a relic of the past|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/article3223795.ece|date=26 March 2012|author=Mohit. M Rao|location=Bangalore|work=The Hindu|access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref>
| website =
}}

'''Government Museum, Bengaluru''', established in 1865 by the [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore State]] with the guidance of Surgeon [[Edward Balfour]] who founded the [[Government Museum, Chennai|museum in Madras]] and supported by the Chief Commissioner of Mysore, [[Lewin Bentham Bowring|L.B. Bowring]],<ref name="hindumushist" /> is one of the oldest museums in India<ref>{{cite news|title=Exploring the wonders of Bangalore|url=http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/kids/article420621.ece|date=3 May 2010|author=Sudhindr. A. B.|work=The Hindu|access-date=3 December 2012|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> and the second oldest museum in South India.<ref name="hindumushist" /> It is now an [[archaeological museum]] and has a rare collection of archaeological and geological artifacts including old jewellery, sculpture, [[coins]] and [[inscriptions]]. The museum is also home to the [[Halmidi inscription]],<ref name="halmidi">{{cite news|title=An apt time to get classical language tag|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/31/stories/2006103108870500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001015326/http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/31/stories/2006103108870500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 October 2007|first=Muralidhara|last=Khajane|date=31 October 2006|location=Hassan|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref> the earliest [[Kannada]] inscription (450 AD).

==History==

===Foundation===
[[File:EdwardBalfour.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of [[Edward Balfour|Edward G. Balfour]] at the Madras Museum]]
The government museum in Bengaluru was established on 18 August 1865,<ref name="hindumushist" /> during the period when [[Lewin Bentham Bowring|L.B. Bowring]] was Chief Commissioner of [[Mysore State]]. A formal official notification was issued in the Mysore Government Gazette on 17 April 1866,<ref name="hindumushist" /> a copy of which is still preserved in the Karnataka State Archives in Bengaluru. The gazette notification officially invited citizens to contribute cultural and natural artifacts to the museum for display.

The museum was founded at the advice and counsel of [[Edward Balfour|Edward G. Balfour]], a medical officer of the Madras Army, transferred to Bengaluru from [[Madras]].<ref name="hindumushist" /> Balfour suggested setting up a museum similar to the [[Government Museum, Chennai|museum]] he had previously established in Madras in 1851. Balfour had organized collections for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Balfour had a collection of zoological and natural specimens to exhibit in the Museum.<ref name="hindumushist" /> The Government museum in Bangalore was then known as the [[Mysore]] Government Museum and the building opened in 1877<ref>{{cite journal|title=Indian museums: a centenary retrospect|author=Hendley, T. Holbein| journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Arts| volume=62| issue=3193|year=1914| pages=207–221}}</ref> was located on what was then Sydney road (today Kasturba road).<ref>{{cite book|author=Furneaux, JH |year=1895| title= Glimpses of India.|publisher= Historical Publishing company|place= Philadelphia| page=422}}</ref>

===First home ===

The museum was first established at the Cantonment's jail building.<ref name="hindumushist" /> It continued to function there for 13 years until 1878.

=== New building ===

The jail building was considered not suitable for a museum and it was decided to construct a special museum building near the Cantonment. The current site of the museum was identified for the new museum. The new museum (the current structure) was planned and built in 1877<ref>{{cite news|title=Why we shouldn't forget Sankey|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/226898/why-we-shouldnt-forget-sankey.html|author=Meera Iyer|location=Bangalore|work=Deccan Herald|year=2012|accessdate=3 December 2012}}</ref> by Col. [[Richard Hieram Sankey]], the Chief Engineer of Mysore State at that time.<ref name="hindumushist" />

The museum was popularly known as the ''tamasha house'' (entertainment house).<ref name="hindumushist" />

==Building==

The museum is flanked by the [[Visvesvaraya Industrial And Technological Museum]] and the Venkatappa Art gallery. The museum is located centrally on Kasturba road. The museum is built in 1877 in the [[neoclassical architecture|neoclassical architectural]] style. It has two [[portico]]s on either side, [[Corinthian order|Corinthian columns]], circular [[arch]]es, sloping [[eaves]] and prominent sloping [[parapet]] walls.

==Collections==

[[File:Halmidi OldKannada inscription.JPG|right|thumb|upright|A replica of the original [[Halmidi inscription]]]]

The museum has two exhibition floors which are divided into 18 galleries. The galleries cover sections that span sculpture, [[natural history]], [[geology]], art, music and [[numismatics]].

The museum is an [[archaeological museum]] and has a rare collection of archaeological and geological artifacts including old jewellery, sculpture, [[coins]] and [[inscriptions]]. The museum has 70 paintings, 84 sculptures, and hundreds of other artifacts, some of which unique to the museum.<ref name="relic" />
The museum has sculpture from the [[Hoysala]], [[Gandhara]] and [[Nolamba]] periods.

[[Neolithic]] [[pottery]] from excavations carried out at [[Chandravalli]], excavations artifacts from [[Mohenjodaro]], [[Halebid]] and [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagar]], terracotta from [[Mathura]] and weapons from [[Kodagu]].<ref name="relic" /> Many relics housed at the museum are as much as 5000 years old. The museum also houses rare paintings of [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]] and [[Chola Dynasty|Tanjore]] kingdoms are found.

The museum has a model of [[Srirangapatna]], the fort of [[Tipu Sultan]]. There is a slab in the museum from Tipu's times that has 12 [[persian language|persian]] couplets. The museum also showcases various old musical instruments. A [[Tanjore]] style framework of 64 Nayanamars is a unique piece there.

The prized collections of the Museum include the earliest Kannada inscription- the [[Halmidi inscription]] (450 C.E.),<ref name="halmidi" /> [[Begur, Bangalore|Begur]] inscription (890 C.E.),<ref>{{cite news|title=Why the relics still lie here..|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/165162/why-relics-still-lie-there.html|date=December 2009|author=Meera Iyer|location=Begur|work=Deccan Herald|accessdate=3 December 2012}}</ref> [[Atakur inscription]] (949 C.E.) slabs are found in this museum.

==Visitors==

The museum saw many visitors in the early part of its history. The average annual footfall was 280,000 in the 1870s and over 400,000<ref name="relic" /> in the early part of the 20th century<ref name="relic" /> as per museum records catalogued by the British. According to museum officials, the annual number of visitors is over 90,000 consisting of domestic and international tourists.<ref name="relic" />

The museum is temporarily closed to visitors for its renovation. It will stay closed for about a year according to some press reports.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 Jan 2024 |title=Bangalore's Government Museum Closes But Only For A Makeover |url=https://bangalore.explocity.com/articles/bangalores-government-museum-closes-but-only-for-a-makeover/ |work=Explocity Bangalore}}</ref>

==Governance==

The [[Government of Karnataka|Karnataka State]] Archaeology Department governs the museum. it comes under the purview of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums.<ref name="117monuments">{{cite news|title=117 monuments in State identified for restoration|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/02/stories/2011010255910500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019070711/http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/02/stories/2011010255910500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 October 2013|date=2 January 2011|author=R. Krishna Kumar|accessdate=3 December 2012|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> The [[Finance Commission of India|13th Finance Commission of India]] has sanctioned {{INR}} 1 billion as a grant to Karnataka for the conservation of monuments and development of museums.<ref name="117monuments" />

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="4">
File:Government Museum, Bangalore (1890) from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.jpg|Government Museum, Bangalore (1890) from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'<ref name=Museum-1890>{{cite book|title=Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'|date=1890|url=http://arjunpuriinqatar.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/rare-photographs-of-bangalore-part-i.html|accessdate=26 January 2015}}</ref>
File:Bangalore Old Field Gun 5-11-2008 5-18-53 PM.JPG|Field Gun, World War I Trophy, displayed outside the Government Museum
File:Ganapathi at Govt Museum Bangalore.JPG|Ganapathi at Govt Museum Bangalore
File:Maheshwari, a form of Feminine goddess at Govt Museum Bangalore.JPG|Maheshwari, a form of Feminine goddess at Govt Museum Bangalore
File:A man and a woman, village folks at Govt Museum Bangalore.JPG|A man and a woman, village folks at Govt Museum Bangalore
File:Three tier part of pillar at Govt Museum Bangalore.JPG|A three tiered hero stone memorial at the Government Museum, Bengaluru
File:Sculptures in front of Government Museum, Bengaluru.jpg|Sculptures in front of the Museum
File:Government Museum, Bengaluru.jpg|The museum in 2020
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of museums in India]]
* [[List of tourist attractions in Bengaluru]]
* [[Cubbon Park]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Government Museum, Bengaluru}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Tourist attractions in Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Museums in Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Archaeological museums in India]]
[[Category:State museums in India]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1865]]
[[Category:1865 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures designed by Richard Hieram Sankey]]

Government Museum, Bengaluru - Revision history

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