Madras Museum, The 2nd Oldest Museum in India & Asia, 1900 Photo
A 1900 photograph of the Madras Museum, the 2nd oldest museum in India and Asia. Founded in 1851, the Madras Government Museum is India’s second-oldest museum in Asia, after the Calcutta Museum. Established during the British era, it has grown into one of the country’s finest cultural institutions, housing an exceptional collection of archaeology, numismatics, geology, zoology, natural history, bronzes, and art.
It has one of the largest collections of Roman currency outside Europe. The National Art Gallery is also a part of the museum that houses rare European and Asian paintings of renowned artists, including Raja Ravi Varma. Located in Egmore, the museum offers visitors a remarkable journey through thousands of years of Indian history and heritage.
The Connemara Public Library, a later addition to the Museum complex, is one of the four National Depository Libraries that receive a copy of all books, newspapers, and periodicals published in India. Commissioned in 1890 and opened to the public in 1896, the library is a repository of century-old publications, in which lie some of the most respected works and collections in the history of the country. It also serves as a depository library for the United Nations. Click image to enlarge.
Did you know – the Madras Government Museum was founded in 1851, just 37 years after the Indian Museum in Calcutta opened in 1814, making it one of the oldest museums in Asia. It is also home to one of the world’s finest collections of South Indian Chola bronzes.
