Salarjung Museum Hyderabad
The Salar Jung Museum is located on Musi river in Hyderabad. It is
the third largest museum in India having one of the biggest one-man
collections of antiques in the world. This museum was set up by Yusuf
Ali Salar Jung, the prime minister of Nizam of Hyderabad. He collected
objects that are now presented in the museum. The museum is open every
day except Friday, from 10.00 a.m. To 5.00 p.m. This museum displays
an impressive collection of European and Indian paintings.
¤ Establishment of The Museum
The outstanding Salarjung Museum set up by Mir Yusuf Ali Khan was
popularly known as Salar Jung III. At the age of 23, he became the
Prime Minister to Nizam in 1912, but he resigned two and a half years
later. After this, he started collecting antiques and art pieces.
Collection of objects wasn't his hobby, it was his passion. He spent a
sizable amount of his wealth on collection. In his entire lifespan he
collected art objects, rare manuscripts and paintings from all over
the world. This collection was basically started by his father and
grandfather.
 In
the year 1961, this museum was declared as the "Institution of
National Importance" by an Act of Parliament. This act is known
as the Salar Jung Museum Act, 1961. Earlier, it was set up in Diwan
Devdi. Later, the museum was re-established at the present building in
1968, situated on the banks of the Musi.
¤ A Valuable Collection
The Salar Jung museum at Hyderabad is famous for its wide collection
of rare items. The museum has a wonderful collection on Indian Art,
Children's Art, Middle Eastern Art, Far Eastern Art and European Art.
Here, you can see sculptures, wood carvings, religious objects,
manuscripts, furniture, vases, snuff boxes, utensils, archer's rings
and ornaments. There are other items also like pottery, clocks,
miniature paintings, portraits, silver and costumes. The museum also
owns some toys, collected from countries like France, England,
Switzerland, Germany, Persia, China, Japan, Burma, and Sri Lanka.
There is a vast collection of printed books on various subjects.
Interested scholars can also go through a rich collection of thousands
of manuscripts in Persian, Arabic and Urdu languages.
¤ The Clock Room, Highlight of The Museum
The highlight of the museum is the clock room, which is one of the
best galleries here. It has a collection of more than 300 clocks. of
special interest is a musical clock, sold by Cook and Kelvy of
England.
¤¤ Other Attractions of The Museum
The Jade Room of the museum has some outstanding objects, belonging
to the ancient Indian rulers like Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. The
museum also has world's largest private collections of art and
artifacts. The Salar Jung Museum has a huge collection of over 43000
art objects, 9000 manuscripts and 47000 printed books. Some exquisite
objects of art like Chinese Porcelain, Aurangazeb's Sword, and Daggers
belonging to Queen Noor Jehan, Emperor Jahangir and Shah Jahan are
also on display. Apart from these, sculptures, Indian paintings and
Persian carpets are also exhibited. Other highlights in the museum
include the "veiled Rebecca", "Mestophiles" and "the
Lady with the lamp". Thus, attracting innumerable tourists.
¤ Reach Salar Jung Museum
By Air : The Museum is
situated in the capital city of andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad is well
connected by air from all the important cities of the country.
By Rail : The important railway stations are Kachiguda and
Nampally in Hyderabad. They are located within a distance of two
miles.
By Road : Buses run frequently from all parts of the city to
Afzalgunj which is within walking distance from the Museum.
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