(Allahabad-Uttar Pradesh)

Allahabad Museum, Allahabad

Allahabad Museum was formally inaugurated in 1947 by India's first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The collection, both reserve and on display, is large and varied and spreads across 18 galleries. The objects on view include prehistoric and Indus Valley antiquities, stone sculpture, terracotta, bronzes, seals, beads, coins, inscriptions, miniature paintings, Buddhist thankas, textiles. weapons, medieval/irman'i and land grants, documents and the personal effects of Nehru and material relating to the freedom movement.

Beautiful stone images, intricately carved temple pillars and lintels dating from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD, represent important dynasties, both ancient and medieval. There are antiquities from renowned schools of sculpture like Gandhara, Mathura, Kausambhi and Sarnath as well as important archaeological discoveries from Bharhut, Bhita, Kausambhi and Jhusi. The outstanding objects include the tasselled head of Shiva arojecting from a stone linga which rortrays the classical purity of Gupta art a blue schist bodhisattva in the image of the Greek god Apollo depicting the syncretisation of Indo-Greek styles and the bejewelled dancing yakshi from Jamsote.

The terracotta collection is one of the largest in India and dates from the Indus Valley onwards. Exuberant folk lifestyles are captured in dancing and amorous scenes, bacchanalian feasts and hunts. There are a number of toys like clay carts, animals and birds. An interesting piece from Ahichchatra depicts an episode from the Mahabharata, the killing of Pralamb. Other exceptional pieces are a figure of the goddess Ganga (Gupta) and a 5th century AD Shalabhanjika.

The coin collection has outstanding Kushana and Gupta gold coins, while the manuscripts, mainly in Sanskrit, date from the 16th century onwards. Also on view are some 19,000 beads which were in use from prehistoric times till the Gupta period.

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