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{{Short description|Museum in Tamil Nadu, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Government Museum, Chennai
| image = Madras museum theatre in October 2007.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| caption = Museum Theatre, the front façade of the Government Museum, Chennai
| pushpin_map = India Chennai##Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Government Museum, [[Egmore]], [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|13.0711|80.2569|region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| established = {{start date and age|1851|df=yes}}
| dissolved =
| location = [[Egmore]], [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| type = [[Art museum]], [[History museum]]
| director =
| curator =
| owner = [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]], [[Government of Tamil Nadu]]
| publictransit = {{flatlist|
* {{ric|Chennai Suburban}} [[Chennai Egmore|Chennai Egmore (Suburban)]]
* {{ric|Chennai Metro}} [[Egmore metro station|Egmore]]
}}
| collections =
| collection_size = 1.7 million
| visitors = 602,345 (2018)
| website = {{URL|www.govtmuseumchennai.org}}
}}

The '''Government Museum, Chennai''', or the '''Madras Museum''', is a [[museum]] of human history and culture located in the Government Museum Complex in the neighbourhood of [[Egmore]] in [[Chennai]], [[India]]. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in [[India]] after the [[Indian Museum]] in [[Kolkata]]. It has among the largest collection of [[Roman currency]] outside [[Europe]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Śrītar |first=Ti Śrī. |title=Roman coins in the Government Museum, Chennai |last2=Suresh |first2=S. |last3=Sundararajan |first3=N. |publisher=Government Museum, Chennai |year=2011 |oclc=999367074}}</ref> The Museum Theatre is a central landmark of the museum.<ref>{{cite news| last = Suresh | first = S. | title = Times Property Section | newspaper = The Times of India | location = Chennai | pages = 2| publisher = The Times Group | date = 21 May 2011 }}</ref> [[The National Art Gallery (Chennai)|The National Art Gallery]] is also present in the museum premises. Built in [[Indo-Saracenic]] style, it houses rare European and Asian painting of renowned artists, including [[Raja Ravi Varma]].<ref>{{cite web|last=J.Jeyaraj|first=George|title=Indo Saracenic Architecture in Chennai|url=http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/seminar_heritage_buildings/Indo_Saracenic_Architecture_in_Chennai.pdf|publisher=CMDA|access-date=July 6, 2012|archive-date=25 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725063408/http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/seminar_heritage_buildings/Indo_Saracenic_Architecture_in_Chennai.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/seminar_heritage_buildings/History_of_Historical_Monuments_in_and_around_Chennai.pdf |title=heritage buildings |publisher=[[Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority|CMDA]] |access-date=July 6, 2012 |archive-date=26 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626081958/http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/seminar_heritage_buildings/History_of_Historical_Monuments_in_and_around_Chennai.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> It had 600,000 visitors in 2018. It has a large collection of bronze idols, 500 of them dating to 1000 BCE, in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/demand-for-audio-guides-at-museum-for-information-on-artefacts/articleshow/69490931.cms |title="Demand for audio-guides at museum for information on artefacts" |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930043743/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/demand-for-audio-guides-at-museum-for-information-on-artefacts/articleshow/69490931.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Location==
The museum is located in what is known as ''the Pantheon'' complex, or "public assembly rooms." It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road in Egmore. The road on which the museum is located too takes its name from the complex. The Government Museum Complex also houses the [[Connemara Public Library]] and the [[National Art Gallery, Chennai|National Art Gallery]].

==History==
[[File:The Government Museum at Egmore.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|The museum complex by Willie Burke, c. 1905]]
In August 1778, the governor of Madras granted 43 acres for an estate to a civil servant, who, subsequently in 1793, assigned the grounds to a committee of 24 which then regulated the public amusements in the city. In 1821, the committee sold the main house and central garden space to E. S. Moorat, an Armenian merchant who, in turn, sold it back to the government in 1830. The government first used the buildings and the grounds as the collector's "Cutcherry" and later for the "Central Museum."<ref name="MM_MuseumLibraryAndTheatre">{{cite journal
| title = Museum, Library and Theatre
| journal = Madras Musings
| volume = XX
| issue = 3
| date = 16–31 May 2010
| url = http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2020%20No%203/museum-library-and-theatre.html
| access-date = 1 July 2012
| archive-date = 9 December 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121209133750/http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2020%20No%203/museum-library-and-theatre.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref> The museum was originally established in a building on College Road in [[Nungambakkam]] in the year 1851 and was shifted to the present site in 1854.

Many additions to the original building were constructed between 1864 and 1890. The core of the old museum building includes the only surviving remnants of the Pantheon, identified from the broad steps leading into it when viewed from the north. Amongst the additions is the [[Connemara Public Library]], built with stained glass windows, ornate woodwork and elaborate stucco decorations, formally opened in 1896 and named after its progenitor. The building was built by [[T. Namberumal Chetty|Namberumal Chetty]] and was designed by Henry Irwin, with the interiors resembling those of Bank of Madras (SBI). The design included a huge reading room with a wooden ceiling between two curved rows of stained glass, supported by ornate pillars and arches embellished with sculpted acanthus leaves. It was supplemented with [[teak]]wood furniture, marbled floor, and decorative windows. All of these were restored in 2004–2007. The building now houses the Old Collection (pre-1930), which is used for reference purpose only.<ref name="MM_MuseumLibraryAndTheatre"/>

[[File:Egmore Museum, Chennai.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Gallery inside the museum]]

Both the museum and the library benefited greatly from the effects of the Madras Literary Society, the Oriental Manuscripts Library and the Records Office. The museum houses a 19th-century theatre, with the "pit" meant for those who can afford more and seating for the rest of the audience in tiered-seats arranged in a semi-circle around the pit. Restoration to mark the 150th anniversary of the museum replaced 25 fans with air-conditioning.

The museum's collections had its origin from a gift of a collection of 1,100 geological specimens by the Madras Literary Society to the Government in 1851. The museum, the first government-sponsored one in the country, opened the same year on the first floor of the college of [[Fort St. George]], adjacent to the Literary Society in Nungambakkam, with an exhibit of nearly 20,000 freely gifted specimens ranging from rocks to books. These gifts were in response to a public invitation that did not have a cut-off date. When the mounting collection of geological specimens threatened the stability of this first floor, the museum's first officer-in-charge, Surgeon Edward Balfour, who was then president of the Literary Society and serving the museum in an honorary capacity, suggested moving to a new building, which was materialised in 1854 with the move to the Pantheon. A library and a reading room were provided for the public in 1859. In 1864, an upper storey was added to the Pantheon in sympathetic style, giving the museum more elbow room. The library got a new block, now known as the centenary exhibition hall of the museum after restoration, in the northwest corner of the Pantheon in 1876, with a lecture hall. By 1896, there had been built new buildings for the museum (where the anthropological and arms galleries are presently located), the [[Connemara Public Library|Connemara Library]] and the museum theatre.<ref name="MM_MuseumLibraryAndTheatre"/>

The museum grounds also housed the first zoo of Madras in 1855, which was also established by Balfour. A year later, it had over 300 animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles. The zoo was later made a separate institution and was shifted to the People's Park in 1863 where it remained, not growing very much, until it was moved to its present location at [[Vandalur]] in 1985.<ref name="MM_MuseumLibraryAndTheatre"/>

An official website for the museum was launched on 25 October 2001 after the government sanctioned {{INR}}0.5 million in 2000–2001.

===List of superintendents/directors/commissioners===
[[File:Egmore Museum building.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|[[The National Art Gallery (Chennai)|The National Art Gallery]], one of the museum buildings]]
[[File:Chennai Museum Entrance.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The entrance sign at the museum]]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! S.No. || Name !! Designation !! Tenure
|-
| 1 || [[Edward Balfour]] || First officer in charge || 1851–1859
|-
| 2 || [[J. Mitchell|Jesse Mitchell]]|| Superintendent || 1859–1872
|-
| 3 || [[George Bidie]]|| Superintendent || 1872–1884
|-
| 4 || [[Edgar Thurston]] || Superintendent || 1885–1908
|-
| 5 ||[[John Robertson Henderson|J. R. Henderson]]|| Superintendent || 1908–1919
|-
| 6 || [[F. H. Gravely]] || Superintendent || 1920–1940
|-
| 7 || [[A. Aiyappan]] || Superintendent || 1940–1975
|-
| 8 || [[S. T. Satyamurthi]]|| Superintendent || 1961–1978
|-
| 9 || N. Harinarayana || Director of museums || 1978–1989
|-
| 10 || G. Kesavaram || Director of museums || 1989–1991
|-
| 11 || M. Raman, I.A.S. || Commissioner of museums || 1991–1993
|-
| 12 || T. R. Ramasamy, I.A.S. || Director of museums || 1993
|-
| 13 || M. Ramu, I.A.S. || Commissioner of museums || 1993–1995
|-
| 14 || Naresh Gupta, I.A.S. || Commissioner of museums || 1995–1996
|-
| 15 || K. Dheenadayalan, I.A.S. || Commissioner of museums || 1996–1997
|-
| 16 || S. Rangamani, I.A.S. || Principal commissioner || 1997–1999
|-
| 17 || R. Kannan, I.A.S. || Commissioner of museums || 1999–2004
|-
| 18 || M. A. Siddique, I.A.S. || Director of museums || 2004–2006
|-
| 19 || R. Kannan, I.A.S. || Special commissioner and commissioner of museums || 2006–2007
|-
| 20 || Sitharam Gurumurthi, I.A.S. || Principal commissioner (additional charge) || 2007
|-
| 21 || Shanthini Kapoor, I.A.S. || Principal secretary/Commissioner of museums || 2007–2008
|-
| 22 || T. S. Sridhar, I.A.S. || Principal secretary/Commissioner of museums || 2008–2011
|-
| 23 || S. S. Jawahar, I.A.S. || Commissioner of museums || 2011-2013
|-
| 24 || R. Kannan, I.A.S. || Principal Secretary/Commissioner of museums
(Additional Charge)
| 2013
|-
|25
|P. R. Shampath, I.A.S.
|Principal Secretary/Commissioner of museums
|2013
|-
|26
|R. Kannan, I.A.S.
|Principal Secretary/Commissioner of museums
(Additional Charge)
|2013-2014
|-
|27
|R. Kannan, I.A.S.
|Additional Chief Secretary/ Commissioner of museums (Additional Charge)
|2014-2015
|-
|28
|D. Karthikeyan, I.A.S.
|Commissioner (Additional Charge)
|2015
|-
|29
|D. Jagannathan, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2015-2017
|-
|30
|Kavitha Ramu, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2017 -2018
|-
|31
|Pinky Jowel, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2018
|-
|32
|Kavitha Ramu, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2018-2019
|-
|33
|T. Udhayachandran, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2019-2021
|-
|34
|M. S. Shanmugam, I.A.S.
|Commissioner of museums
|2020-2021
|-
|35
|T. P. Rajesh, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2021
|-
|36
|S. A. Raman, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2021-2022
|-
|37
|Sandeep Nanduri, I.A.S.
|Director of museums
|2022-2023

|-
|38
|A. Suganthi, I.A.S.
|Commissioner of Museums
|2023

|-
|39
| M. Arvind, I.A.S.
| Commissioner of museums
| 2023-2024
|-
|40
| Tmt Kavitha Ramu, I.A.S.
| Director of museums
| 2024
|}

==The museum complex==
[[File:Chennai Museum Canon.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Canons at the museum complex]]
The museum complex consisting of six buildings and 46 galleries covers an area of around 16.25 acres (66,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of land. The objects displayed in the museum cover a variety of artifacts and objects covering diverse fields including [[archeology]], [[numismatics]], [[zoology]], [[natural history]], [[sculptures]], palm-leaf [[manuscript]]s, and [[Amravati]] paintings.
[[File:Govt Museum Chennai 01.png|thumb|Window inside Government Museum, Chennai.]]
[[File:Inside of Chennai Museum.jpg|thumb|180px|Inside of Chennai Museum.]]
Located close to the main museum entrance gates on Pantheon Road, the museum theatre is a rare specimen of the [[Italianate]] style of architecture, inspired by Classical architecture and developed in 1802 at [[United Kingdom|Britain]] by John Nash. However, the theatre was built by the [[United Kingdom|British]] in the late 19th century when this style was no longer popular in [[England]]. The structure has a high plinth and is accessed through a tall flight of stairs. It is primarily a semicircular structure with a rectangular wing at the rear. The latter wing now houses some of the galleries of the museum. The main hall is accessed through a verandah with a row of columns linked by semicircular arches. The walls and columns are embellished with floral and geometric designs.

The huge main hall was initially designed for staging theatrical performances. It has around 600 seats and a commodious stage and the actors' dressing rooms adjoin this stage.

During the British era, the theatre was mainly used for staging English plays preferred by the British elite of the city. Now, the museum has been using the theatre for its own cultural and academic programs such as art workshops, lectures and conferences. It also rents the hall for various cultural performances, mainly dramas. The hall has witnessed several plays including those of [[Shakespeare]].

Since August 2004, the museum is also a designated "Manuscript Conservation Centre" (MCC) under the [[National Mission for Manuscripts]] established in 2003. The museum has taken preventive care of about 19,007 manuscripts and given curative conservation treatment to about 7,402 manuscripts.<ref>{{cite web| title =Manuscript Conservation Centres| publisher =National Mission for Manuscripts| url =http://www.namami.org/convervation.htm| access-date =1 July 2012| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120506234603/http://www.namami.org/convervation.htm| archive-date =2012-05-06}}</ref>

The museum for children in the complex houses several static exhibits such as galleries of dolls adorned with costumes of various nations and civilisations and also exhibits pertaining to science, transportation, and technology.<ref name="Hindu_3DTheatreComingUp"/>

==Visitors==
As of 2013, the children's museum is visited by 1,000 people a day, and the number of visitors increases during weekends.<ref name="Hindu_3DTheatreComingUp"/>

==The future==

An air-conditioned 3D theatre, the first of its kind facility in a state museum, is under construction at the children's museum in the museum complex at a cost of {{INR}}4 million. Equipments are to be provided by the [[National Council of Science Museums]], [[Kolkata]]. The theatre will screen science-oriented films. It screen a 20-minute-long film and will play five shows a day. The project is expected to be completed by April 2013. There are also plans to upgrade the 3D theatre to a 5D one.<ref name="Hindu_3DTheatreComingUp">{{cite news
| last = Lakshmi
| first = K.
| title = Coming up: 3D theatre at govt. museum
| newspaper = The Hindu
| location = Chennai
| date = 19 February 2013
| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/coming-up-3d-theatre-at-govt-museum/article4428960.ece
| access-date = 22 February 2013
| archive-date = 22 February 2013
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130222055840/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/coming-up-3d-theatre-at-govt-museum/article4428960.ece
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

In 2018, the Department of Museums started evaluating bids for renovating the museum as part of an Asian Development Bank–funded scheme.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Rohit
| first = T. K.
| title = Bids under evaluation for Egmore Museum facelift
| newspaper = The Hindu
| location = Chennai
| publisher = Kasturi & Sons
| date = 28 August 2018
| url = https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/bids-under-evaluation-for-egmore-museum-facelift/article24795920.ece
| access-date = 2 September 2018
| archive-date = 4 January 2020
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200104010022/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/bids-under-evaluation-for-egmore-museum-facelift/article24795920.ece
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Vishnu, Chola period bronze, Government Museum, Chennai (3) (36742995514).jpg|Sculpture of [[Vishnu]] in bronze from the [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] period
File:Bhadrakali, bronze, 14th century, Government Museum, Chennai (3) (23601025808).jpg|Sculpture of [[Bhadrakali]] in bronze from the 14th century CE
File:Dakshinamurthi, Chola period, 12th century, Government Museum, Chennai (2) (37452833471).jpg|Sculpture of [[Dakshinamurthi]] from the [[Chola]] period, 12th century CE
File:Mahishasuramardini, Chola period bronze, 11th century, Government Museum, Chennai (3) (37452683891).jpg|Sculpture of [[Mahishasuramardini]] in bronze from the [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] period, 11th century CE
File:Artifacts from Assam's Tribes exhibit at Government Museum, Chennai.jpg|[[Tribes of Assam|Tribal artifacts]] from Assam
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|India}}
* [[Cuddalore Government Museum]]
* [[Government Museum, Karur]]
* [[Government Museum, Pudukkottai]]
* [[Government Museum, Tiruchirappalli]]
* [[Government Museum, Salem]]
* [[Connemara Public Library]]
* [[Museum of Possibilities]]
* [[Tamil Nadu Police Museum, Chennai|Tamil Nadu Police Museum]]
* [[List of Tamil Nadu Government Estates, Complexes, Buildings and Structures]]
* [[Heritage structures in Chennai]]
* [[Kottayam Coin Hoard]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{official website|http://www.govtmuseumchennai.org/}}

{{Chennai Topics}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:State museums in India]]
[[Category:Museums in Chennai]]
[[Category:Natural history museums in India]]
[[Category:Numismatic museums in India]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in India]]
[[Category:Archaeological museums in India]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1851]]
[[Category:1851 establishments in India]]
[[Category:1851 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:British colonial architecture in India]]
[[Category:Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture]]
[[Category:Heritage sites in Chennai]]
[[Category:Italianate architecture in India]]

Government Museum, Chennai - Revision history

Vikidge: Added A Entry