Nagpur Central Museum

The Nagpur Central Museum, known as Ajab Bangla, is located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. It holds coins, ancient inscriptions, sculptures, inscriptions and pre-historic artifacts. It was established in 1863.

                                  The Central Museum, Nagpur is one of the oldest museum in India, established in 1863. Sir Richard Temple, the then Chief Commissioner of the Nagpur took leading role in establishing the Central Museum, Nagpur. Because of his untiring and pioneering efforts, the vision of establishing a museum at Nagpur came into existence. Sir Richard Temple himself donated some of his personal collection of specimens of porcelain from Worcester to the museum. The collections were enriched by acquiring exhibits from the Exhibitions held at Nagpur and Jabalpur in 1865 and 1866, respectively. Sir Richard Temple organized a royal durbar at the residency, in order to collect rare artifacts for the museum. He called a meeting of all the renowned royal family members, sardars, Jahagirdars, Malgujars and such other philanthropists to donate rare artifacts from their collection to the museum.
                                        Rev. Stephen Hislop, one of the founder member of the Central Museum, Nagpur took great efforts to acquire ‘rare artifacts for the museum.’ The museum was at first supported by the Municipality. Later on a grant was made from the local funds in order to meet the salaries, while the municipal contribution provided funds for contingent expenditure, purchase of new exhibits etc. A museum committee was set up which consisted an Indian Member, Nana Ahir Rao. 
                                        Mr. R. J. D. Graham, last honorary curator retired in 1916 when Mr. D’Abreu succeeded him. Before, He was Assistant curator from 1911. Since the appointment of Mr. D’Abrue, a thorough reorganization of the Natural History Section takes place. Large additions were made to the collection of birds, mammals and reptiles from the province. Mr. D’Abreu not only displayed the invertebrate and vertebrate fauna of the province but also enriched the reserve collection of the Central Museum, Nagpur. On the basis of this collection, museum published several records and Bulletins.
                                     In 1953, a regional museum was started at Raipur when selected exhibits from that area were transported to that institution from the Central Museum, Nagpur. Also some of the exhibits are transported to the Government Museum, Mahur.  
                                        In 1919, when the governing body of the Victoria Technical Institute handed over the whole of the Economic Museum to the Central Museum, Nagpur, it becomes overcrowded. The Public Room in the Museum building also gets absorbed into the museum. In the following years, the Geological section was reorganized under the direction of Mr. C. S. Fox of the geological survey.
                                       Through the past one hundred and fifty years, Central Museum, Nagpur graded as one of the oldest museum of the country, having valuable collection such as sculptures, paintings, stuffed birds and animals, arms and ammunitions, textiles, ivory, coins, manuscripts, archaeological findings from excavations, anthropological artifacts (aborigine art and 
                                                                            

culture),paleontological artifacts and many more. Following, the brief collection of the Central Museum, Nagpur. Arts and Craft exhibit –

                                         It is to be housed in the Central Hall. This section consist of metal artifacts, Ivory bronze articles, wooden material etc. the metal wares in the Central Museum, Nagpur includes engraved and perforated metal ware from Banaras, bell metal ware from Mandla and the brass lamps from Bhadara are the most interesting collection. The exhibits made of horn includes candle stand from Ratnagiri etc. The specimens of ivory work includes figure of Lakshmi, a remarkable piece of art. In the specimens of textiles, sarees with golden thread work from  Burhanpur deserves special mention. The selected specimens of textiles were collected by Secretary of State in 1866. In the specimens of wooden carving ‘Harvest’ from Bombay deserves special mention. Attractive wooden carved fruits and vegetables were brought from Gokak (Belgaum District, Mysore state). The specimens of pottery includes Victorian porcelain donated by Sir Richard Temple. There are few specimens of Burmese art from Shri Mande, Nagpur. 

Archaeological exhibits-

                                   This is one of the richest section of the museum. The collection of pre-historic exhibits includes Stone Age, Copper Age and Chalcolithic Age antiquities. The Copper Age antiquities are from Gungeria ( Balaghat District, M. P.) discovered in 1870. Sculptures mostly belongs to the Medieval Era. Noteworthy sculptures in the gallery are Lakshminarayana from Chanda, Vishnu from seoni, Mukhlinga from Nemar, shiva from Padmapur and Mahavira from Jabalpur. Museum has a large collection of inscriptions which throws light on the history of the country. Two copper plates have been received as donations from Shri. Harshe of Sagar and Shri. Upasrao Mahadik, Nagpur. 
                                                    The collection of coins contains punch marked coins of Satvahanas, the Kshatrapas, the Guptas, Mahendraditya and Prasannamatra, the Nalas and the Kalchuris, the Paramaras, the Chalukyas and the Yadavas etc. The coins of Sultans of Delhi and their contemporaries, Mughals and their Contemporaries is also fairly rich. A Babylonian Seal is also present which dates back to about 2000 B. C., i.e. the period of the first dynasty of the Babylon which deserves special mention.The Central Museum, Nagpur also has a collection of archaeological exhibits found during the excavations at Harappa and Koundinyapur which includes beads, shells, toys etc.

Paintings -

 This is the recently started gallery and comprises mostly Indian paintings. These paintings can be grouped under following heads viz. Portrait, Composition and Landscapes. The Central 
                                                                                                                                                      

Museum, Nagpur has a large collection of paintings contains work of sarvashri. M. V. Athavale, S. L. Haldankar, Wadnagekar, M. Satavalekar, K. K. Hebbar, A.A. Raiba, D. D. Dalal, V. Masoji, W.V. Kranjkar, kum Dhurandhar and Smt. B. Prabha, P.A. Dhond, V.R. Ambedkar, V. B. Dehadrai, Prof. W. Laghmmer, S. H. Raza, Paulraj, Hanumaiya, and M.S. Joshi. The collection contains paintings of Mughal, Rajasthani, Kangra and Dekkani style of paintings. An old portrait of Mahadaji Shindhia is said to be drawn by an Italian artist. It is received from Government of India. Geological exhibits-

                                The geological exhibits can be grouped into rocks, minerals of economic importance and fossils etc. The fossil collection includes specimens of plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossils discovered in the region. Rev. Hislops collection of fossils deserves special mention. 
                Though maximum numbers of artifacts are from British period, many of the artifacts are collected by museum later British era.

                                  The Central Museum, Nagpur is one of the oldest museum in India, established in 1863. Sir Richard Temple, the then Chief Commissioner of the Nagpur took leading role in establishing the Central Museum, Nagpur. Because of his untiring and pioneering efforts, the vision of establishing a museum at Nagpur came into existence. Sir Richard Temple himself donated some of his personal collection of specimens of porcelain from Worcester to the museum. The collections were enriched by acquiring exhibits from the Exhibitions held at Nagpur and Jabalpur in 1865 and 1866, respectively. Sir Richard Temple organized a royal durbar at the residency, in order to collect rare artifacts for the museum. He called a meeting of all the renowned royal family members, sardars, Jahagirdars, Malgujars and such other philanthropists to donate rare artifacts from their collection to the museum.
                                        Rev. Stephen Hislop, one of the founder member of the Central Museum, Nagpur took great efforts to acquire ‘rare artifacts for the museum.’ The museum was at first supported by the Municipality. Later on a grant was made from the local funds in order to meet the salaries, while the municipal contribution provided funds for contingent expenditure, purchase of new exhibits etc. A museum committee was set up which consisted an Indian Member, Nana Ahir Rao. 
                                        Mr. R. J. D. Graham, last honorary curator retired in 1916 when Mr. D’Abreu succeeded him. Before, He was Assistant curator from 1911. Since the appointment of Mr. D’Abrue, a thorough reorganization of the Natural History Section takes place. Large additions were made to the collection of birds, mammals and reptiles from the province. Mr. D’Abreu not only displayed the invertebrate and vertebrate fauna of the province but also enriched the reserve collection of the Central Museum, Nagpur. On the basis of this collection, museum published several records and Bulletins.
                                     In 1953, a regional museum was started at Raipur when selected exhibits from that area were transported to that institution from the Central Museum, Nagpur. Also some of the exhibits are transported to the Government Museum, Mahur.  
                                        In 1919, when the governing body of the Victoria Technical Institute handed over the whole of the Economic Museum to the Central Museum, Nagpur, it becomes overcrowded. The Public Room in the Museum building also gets absorbed into the museum. In the following years, the Geological section was reorganized under the direction of Mr. C. S. Fox of the geological survey.
                                       Through the past one hundred and fifty years, Central Museum, Nagpur graded as one of the oldest museum of the country, having valuable collection such as sculptures, paintings, stuffed birds and animals, arms and ammunitions, textiles, ivory, coins, manuscripts, archaeological findings from excavations, anthropological artifacts (aborigine art and 
                                                                            

culture),paleontological artifacts and many more. Following, the brief collection of the Central Museum, Nagpur. Arts and Craft exhibit –

                                         It is to be housed in the Central Hall. This section consist of metal artifacts, Ivory bronze articles, wooden material etc. the metal wares in the Central Museum, Nagpur includes engraved and perforated metal ware from Banaras, bell metal ware from Mandla and the brass lamps from Bhadara are the most interesting collection. The exhibits made of horn includes candle stand from Ratnagiri etc. The specimens of ivory work includes figure of Lakshmi, a remarkable piece of art. In the specimens of textiles, sarees with golden thread work from  Burhanpur deserves special mention. The selected specimens of textiles were collected by Secretary of State in 1866. In the specimens of wooden carving ‘Harvest’ from Bombay deserves special mention. Attractive wooden carved fruits and vegetables were brought from Gokak (Belgaum District, Mysore state). The specimens of pottery includes Victorian porcelain donated by Sir Richard Temple. There are few specimens of Burmese art from Shri Mande, Nagpur. 

Archaeological exhibits-

                                   This is one of the richest section of the museum. The collection of pre-historic exhibits includes Stone Age, Copper Age and Chalcolithic Age antiquities. The Copper Age antiquities are from Gungeria ( Balaghat District, M. P.) discovered in 1870. Sculptures mostly belongs to the Medieval Era. Noteworthy sculptures in the gallery are Lakshminarayana from Chanda, Vishnu from seoni, Mukhlinga from Nemar, shiva from Padmapur and Mahavira from Jabalpur. Museum has a large collection of inscriptions which throws light on the history of the country. Two copper plates have been received as donations from Shri. Harshe of Sagar and Shri. Upasrao Mahadik, Nagpur. 
                                                    The collection of coins contains punch marked coins of Satvahanas, the Kshatrapas, the Guptas, Mahendraditya and Prasannamatra, the Nalas and the Kalchuris, the Paramaras, the Chalukyas and the Yadavas etc. The coins of Sultans of Delhi and their contemporaries, Mughals and their Contemporaries is also fairly rich. A Babylonian Seal is also present which dates back to about 2000 B. C., i.e. the period of the first dynasty of the Babylon which deserves special mention.The Central Museum, Nagpur also has a collection of archaeological exhibits found during the excavations at Harappa and Koundinyapur which includes beads, shells, toys etc.

Paintings -

 This is the recently started gallery and comprises mostly Indian paintings. These paintings can be grouped under following heads viz. Portrait, Composition and Landscapes. The Central 
                                                                                                                                                      

Museum, Nagpur has a large collection of paintings contains work of sarvashri. M. V. Athavale, S. L. Haldankar, Wadnagekar, M. Satavalekar, K. K. Hebbar, A.A. Raiba, D. D. Dalal, V. Masoji, W.V. Kranjkar, kum Dhurandhar and Smt. B. Prabha, P.A. Dhond, V.R. Ambedkar, V. B. Dehadrai, Prof. W. Laghmmer, S. H. Raza, Paulraj, Hanumaiya, and M.S. Joshi. The collection contains paintings of Mughal, Rajasthani, Kangra and Dekkani style of paintings. An old portrait of Mahadaji Shindhia is said to be drawn by an Italian artist. It is received from Government of India. Geological exhibits-

                                The geological exhibits can be grouped into rocks, minerals of economic importance and fossils etc. The fossil collection includes specimens of plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossils discovered in the region. Rev. Hislops collection of fossils deserves special mention. 
                Though maximum numbers of artifacts are from British period, many of the artifacts are collected by museum later British era.

See also

• List of museums in India