Salar Jung Museum
Introduction
The Salar Jung Museum was established in 1951 at Hyderabad. The major portion of the collection of the museum was acquired by Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung III.
Functions and Powers
Salar Jung Museum is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture. It is engaged in conservation, preservation, acquisition of art objects of historical importance and educational activities such as exhibitions, popular lectures, gallery talks, seminars etc.
The collections of Museum ranges from 2nd century B.C to early 20th century A.D of different cultures such as Greek, Roman, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Islamic of various countries and of various materials.
The museum collection is divided into Indian Art, Middle Eastern Art, Far Eastern Art, European Art and Children’s Section. Other than this, a gallery is devoted to the illustrious Salar Jung family, which was mainly responsible for acquiring the collection.
Some of the historical collections include:
- The paintings of legendary Raja Ravi Varma
- Aurangzeb’s sword
- Jade crafted daggers of, Emperor Jehangir, Noorjahan and Shah Jehan
- A wardrobe of Tipu Sultan
- A tiffin box made of gold and diamond
Other activities of the museum:
- Publication of guide-Books, brochures, research Journals, and books
- Seminars and workshops on special occasions such as – Birthday celebrations of Salar Jung III, Museum Week, Childrens Week etc.
The Salar Jung Museum is also having a huge library consisting of nearly sixty thousand books, manuscripts, journals etc.
In 1961, through an Act of Parliament, the Salar Jung Museum along with its library was declared as an “Institution of National Importance”.
