Salar Jung Museum is one of the remarkable museums in India. It is one of the most important places to visit in Hyderabad. Salar Jung Museum article covers topics like Timings, Collections, Information, Images, Clock, History, About, etc
Interesting facts about Salar Jung Museum
• The oldest book in the library is the general history of the Turks by Richard Knolles, 1631 A.D.
• It should be noted that there are only two miniature manuscripts of copies of the Holy Ouran in the world, and while one of them is in Iran, the other is in the Salar Jung Museum and its size is 2.4 cms. The museum also has a large Ouran which measures 60×30 cms.
• The Salar Jung Museum is one of India’s national museums and has an excellent library with a rare collection of 8,000 manuscripts and 60,000 printed books.
• During Museum Week (January 8 to 14), visitors are allowed on a 50% concession on admission fees.
• The museum authorities also maintains a “Mobile Exhibition Van” organizing exhibitions on different themes on the museum’s collections
History and evolution of Salar Jung Museum
The Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad is a repository of the artistic achievements of various European, Asian and extraterrestrial countries of the world. Much of this collection was acquired by Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, who was well known as Salar Jung III. The zeal for the acquisition of art objects continued as a family tradition for three generations of Salar Jungs. In 1914, Salar Jung III, after having abandoned the position of Prime Minister in HEH, Nizam VII, Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, devoted his entire stay to collecting and enriching the treasures of art and Literature to his life.
The rare and precious objects of art collected by him for more than forty years, are located in the portals of the Salar Jung Museum, as rare as the rare art objects. After the disappearance of Salar Jung-III, the vast collection of precious objects of art and its library housed in “Dewan-Deodi”, the ancestral palace of the Salar Jungs, the opportunity to organize a museum outside The collection of Nawab took place fairly early And Sri MK Velodi, then civil administrator in chief of the state of Hyderabad, addressed a famous art critic, DrJames Cousins, to organize the various works of art And curiosities that were dispersed in different palaces of Salar Jung III to form a museum.
In order to perpetuate the name of Salar Jung as a world-renowned art connoisseur, the Salar Jung Museum was established and was opened to the public by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, on December 16 1951. However, the administration of the Museum continued to be entrusted to the Salar Jung Estate Committee until 1958. Subsequently, the heirs of Salar Jung Bahadur graciously agreed to donate the entire collection to the Government of India By a compromise act based on a decree of the High Court on December 26, 1958.
The Museum continued to be administered directly by the Government of India until 1961. By an Act of Parliament (Act of 26 of 1961), The Museum with its Library was declared Institution of National Importance. The administration has been entrusted to an autonomous board of directors with the governor of Andhra Pradesh as ex-official president and ten other members representing the government of India, Andhra Pradesh State, Of Osmania and a member of the Salar Jungs family.Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan Bahadur Salar Jung – III The family of Salar Jung has a glorious past with great state-of-mind qualities for generations and rich family contributions to the vast collection of works of art, manuscripts and printed books, which now find A place in the museum.It is evident that the treasures that the last Salar Jung inherited only added to the vast acquisitions made by Salar Jung III, also with the zeal of a true collector.
This continued for forty years until his death on March 2, 1949. The military governor of the time declared a holiday as a mark of respect for this great man. The Hyderabad Art Society convened a meeting and adopted a resolution of condolence. The Society resolved that a museum be opened associated with its name.
Salar Jung Museum Collections:
The museum has a magnificent collection of works of art and antiques not only of Indian origin, but also of Western countries, an important collection from the origins of the Middle East and the Far East. Apart from that, there is a children’s section, which contains a large collection of rare manuscripts, reference books, and so on. So this museum has became popular, not just as a museum, but also as an educational institution.
Among the many rare objects, one of the important and interesting objects collected by Salar Jung was the “Vellied Rebecca” a statue of enchanting marble that was acquired to him by Rome in 1876 during his visit to Italy. The western collection comes from Germany, Ireland, France, England, Belgium, Italy. A set of ivory chairs that would have been presented by Louis XVI of France to Tippu Sultan of Mysore would deserve a special attraction. A jade book “Rehal” which was named ‘Shamsuddin Altamish’, an archer ring inscribed with Sahib-e-Quran-e-Sani, which was the title of Shahjahan, the Mughal emperor are masterpieces .
A dagger and a jade fruit knife adorned with precious stones belong to Jehangir and Noorjehan respectively. Lots of Indian miniature paintings in the ancient Indian style of the 14th and 15th centuries representing the themes of Krishna Leela are also part of the museum’s collection. There are a good number of Arabic and Persian manuscripts dating from the 19th century and Shah-nama by Furadausi are also part of the museum’s precious collection. A rare manuscript entitled “Lilawati” on mathematics and an ancient medical encyclopedia transcribed in India is included in the collection. Water and Oil paintings form an significant part of the European collections.
Library
The Salar Jung Museum is one of India’s national museums and has an excellent library with a rare collection of 60,000 printed books and 8,000 manuscripts. Among them 40,000 books were collected by Salar Jung III, Mir Yousuf Ali Khan and his ancestors. Salar Jung III was a bibliophile and a great connoisseur, a passion that persisted with him until the last. This museum and the Salar Jung Library are a living testimony to his life of interest and dedication.Salar Jung Museum Library opened to the public in 1961 by an Act of Parliament.
The collection of manuscripts in the library, which has unique specimens, is one of the richest in the world in terms of quality. It contains many precious gems of calligraphic art and ornate embellishment; Objects with a magnificent decoration and an artistic mixture of colors with a profuse use of gold, mineral colors that generously used as Zabarjad for the green, shangraf for red, pearl for white and lazuli for blue. Calligraphers, artists and book binders did their best to show their respective arts and thus paid their tributes to the written word.
Collection of manuscripts
The collection of manuscripts includes various media such as textile, stone, palm leaf, paper, parchment, wood and glass, different languages such as Hindi, Persian, Dakhni, Urdu, Arabic, some Turks, Pushtu, Sanskrit, Telugu and Oriya and addresses more than 84 subjects. The collection includes more than 1500 calligraphic panels and albums of miniature paintings from different schools.The range of topics is diversified and includes Medicine, Syntax, Science, Dictionaries, Logic, Agriculture, Sufism,Calligraphy, Lexicography, Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Games, Art, Music, History, Poetry, Voyages, Biography, Theanical Sciences, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Etymology , Divinations, Theology, Law, Magic and Archery, etc.
The manuscripts are linked to a variety of Indian religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and so on. These manuscripts are in various forms, sizes and shapes. It should be noted that there are only two miniature manuscripts of copies of the Holy Ouran in the world, and while one of them is in Iran, the other is in the Salar Jung Museum and the size of that Quran is 2.4 cms. The museum also has a large Quran which measures 60×30 cms. Some calligraphic panels are embedded on glass, and the museum has manuscripts with magnificent nail work. The other calligraphic works are in many scripts, such as Tughra, Kufi, Riqa, Thulth, Diwani, Naskh, Raihan,Ta’liq, Nasta’aliq, Gubar, Shikasta, Bahar, Ma’akus and in different styles of Audacious and archaic at the minute.
ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS
The library has a collection of more than 2,500 manuscripts in Arabic, which highlights that the rare work on mathematics titled Sharhu Mukhtasar al Mukhtasar on Algebra (847 AD) In astronomy, the first work on preparation and use Of the globe (16th century). In the field of medicine, the library boasts of Kilabul Qanun manuscripts by Avicenna (Ibn Sina). In natural history, the works noted are Hayatul Haiwan. In the field of philosophy, an encyclopaedic work in the library is Rasiallkhwanus Safa (16th century).
AI Tajrid Wire Mantiq is a well-known work on logic written by Nasiruddin Tusi (1628 AD) and Ala Sharhil Malali’s manuscripts are a copy of Imperial Library of Emperor Jahangir. Manuscripts on Islamic theology dealing with Adiyah (prayers) of the Shiites and Sunnis, jurisprudence and Sufism are also part of the collections. T’aruf Ii Madhabit tasawuf is a precious work on the introduction to the principles of Sufism (Delhi-1675 A.D). The first codex of the lexicon is Sahah by Abu Nasr (1218 A.D). Jaiul Qawayed is a very precious codex in the subject of syntax (1576 A.D) and on the etymology a notes on As Shafia written during the period of Nizam II in one of the library’s precious possessions.
MANUSCRITS PERSA
There are about 4,700 manuscripts in the Persian language. The most notable is Rauzatul Muhibbin, which includes 20 illustrations belonging to the Bukhara tradition and was transcribed by the famous calligrapher Mir Ali Harvi. The earliest manuscript on the Sunnite commentary is A’I Basair Wujuh wan Nazir, wrote in 1207 A.D, in Arabic Naskh. On Tasawwuf (Sufism), the most useful and useful treatise is attributed to Bayazid Bustami, who converted it in 1588 AD. There are manuscripts on archery, divination, science, astrology, art and magic. There is a codex on agriculture and a number of codices on semi-precious stones and precious gems.
On the art of calligraphy, the Museum has a number of manuscripts, in the kitchen there are two manuscripts entitled Dastur-e-Pukhtan-el Atamaah written for Shahjahan. There is also a Codex on the preparation of perfumes. In medicine, the oldest Arabic translation in Persian is Tarjuma-e-Minhajul Mayan written for Shahjahan by Muhammad ar-Radi. The museum includes the collection of the oldest medical encyclopedia transcribed in India. In veterinary sciences, the Mualaja-e-Janwaran codex is the first available manuscript on the treatment of animals and is dedicated to Firuz Shah (1281 A.D).
URDU, TURKISH, PUSHTU, HINDI AND ORIYA MANUSCRITS
The Library of Salar Jung Museum has more than 1,200 Urdu manuscripts on various subjects including Diwan-e-Quli Qutb Shah of King Muhammad Quli and Nurus of Ibrahim Adil Shah and a rare manuscript entitled “Lilawati, on Mathematics and More Of 25 manuscripts in Turkish and Hindi manuscripts are in Persian script and some folios by Jaina Kalpasutra and some palm leaf manuscripts in Oriya, Sanskrit and Telugu on the subject of history, medicine, tantra and poetry Are also present.
PRINTED BOOK COLLECTION
ENGLISH SECTION
The English section includes nearly 40,000 books and also has rare collections of books. It covers a variety of subjects of history, biography, engineering, literature, biology and philosophy. The oldest book in the library is the general history of the Turks by Richard Knolles, 1631 A.D. There are some autographed titles in the collection.
One among them is a book presented to Sir Salar Jung I by Queen Victoria entitled Sheets of the Journal of Our Lives in the Highlands from 1848 to 1861. The library also has a life history of Guru Nanak Janam Sakhi. The collection also includes the translations of important literary works. “The Ocean of Stories” is an example for English translation of Katha Sarit Sagara. The library has an extensive collection of books on the history of the world.
EASTERN SECTION
This section contains approximately 19,000 printed books. About 13,000 are in Urdu, 3,500 in Persian, 2,500 in Arabic and 160 in Turkish. It covers a wide range of books on topics such as history, Islam, medicine, literature from different countries such as India, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, etc. others books are available on the history of Deccan. The literary works of the classical poets of Urdu are available in the library in this section.
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION
The Salar Jung Museum has published 19 descriptive catalogs of manuscript details, each with title, author, illustrations, autographs, seals and chronology. The Museum also published a rare copy of the Holy Qur’an, which includes only 30 folios with each line beginning with the first alphabet of Arabic, alif. Parchment research is also conducted by the Manuscripts section of the museum.The collections of the Salar Jung Museum are the mirrors of the past human environment, going from the 2nd century BC. And in the early 20th century AD from different cultures such as Hindu, Greek, Islamic, Roman, Jain, Christian and Buddhist from various countries and various materials.
The museum’s collection can be divided into European art, Children’s Section, Far Eastern art, Middle Eastern art, and Indian art. Apart from this, a gallery is dedicated to the illustrious Salar Jung family, who was primarily responsible for the acquisition of the collection.Indian art objects Include metals, stone sculptures, painted textiles (Kalamkari), bronze images, manuscripts, wood carvings, jade sculptures, weapons and armor, etc.The Middle East is represented by its artistic objects of Egypt, Syria and Persia covering various media such as lacquer paper (manuscripts), carpets, ceramics, glass, metals, furniture etc.The Salar Jung Museum is one of the few Indian museums boasting an extensive collection of Far East art fairies, including bronze, inlays, varnish, Embroideries, paintings, Japanese crafts of porcelain, wood and enamel.
European collection featuring works of art ranging from resplendent and excellent examples of oil paintings, aesthetically attractive glass objects to majestic furniture, splendid examples of ivory, enamel and clocks.The objects exhibited in the children’s section of the museum testify to the wide range of interest and the diverse nature of Salar Jung III in the collection of objects. Objects located in the section provide informal education to children in addition to making them happy.
The Salar Jung Museum is an institutional member of various historical and museological organizations, such as ICOM-INC, the Museums Association of India, etc.
The museum organizes periodic exhibitions on various themes and efforts are made to make them more aesthetic, educational and informative. It also maintains a “Mobile Exhibition Van” organizing exhibitions on different themes on the museum’s collections and the cultural heritage of India to present the museum at the doors of schools, villages and other public places within the framework of Museum education. The museum publishes guides, books, brochures, research journals and books on subjects selected in the English, Hindi and Urdu languages.
The Salar Jung Museum also has a huge library of nearly sixty thousand books, manuscripts, magazines etc., and it is a monument to the learning love of the Salar Jung family.As part of the reorganization of the museum, two huge buildings were built on each side of the main building. Plans are under way to organize the galleries on a wide range, like all objects belonging to the European countries, which will be housed in the West Block and all the objects of the countries of the East and the Far- East must be housed in the East Block. Oriental and Indian objects will be housed in the current main building.As it is one of the museums of national importance in India, the Salar Jung Museum is intended to serve as a cultural center through its exhibitions, research projects and planned activities.
Location Of Salar Jung Museum
The current building of the museum was built on the south bank of the Musi river, which is close to the important monuments of the old city of Hyderabad, such as the historic Charminar, chowmahalla palace, Mecca Masjid and so on. The museum and library collections were transferred from Dewan Deodi to the new building in 1968 and two more buildings were added in 2000.
Timings Of Salar Jung Museum
The museum remains opened from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM everyday. The museum remains closed on Friday.
Entry Fee Of Salar Jung Museum
For Child (Indian citizen) – Rs. 5
For Adult (Indian citizen) – Rs. 10
For Foreign Citizens – Rs. 150
For Still camera – Rs. 50.
Best time to visit: Seminars and workshops are organized on special occasions such as Salar Jung III’s birthday parties, Museum Week, Children’s Week, etc. as part of its events.
During Museum Week (January 8 to 14), visitors are allowed on a 50% concession on admission fees. The Rangoli competition for women of different age groups takes place every year to maintain traditional culture.
During Children’s Week (November 14-20), students and children are allowed to enter the museum free of charge. Competitions are also conducted on different aspects among students of different age groups, such as elocution, drafting, drawing, etc. In English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu.
Things to do: The Museum regularly organizes special exhibitions and workshops in collaboration with museums and international organizations. The museum publishes guides, books, brochures, research journals and books on subjects selected in the English, Hindi and Urdu languages. Seminars and workshops are organized on special occasions such as Salar Jung III’s birthday celebrations, Museum Week, Children’s Week, etc., as part of its events.
As a museum of national importance in India, the Salar Jung Museum is intended to serve as a cultural center through its exhibitions, research projects and planned activities as an educational center and as an instrument National integration.
How To Reach: Salarjung museum is located within the city of Hyderabad and it is very near to Charminar and chowmahalla Palace. It can be reached by TSRTC Bus, Cab, Own Vehicle.
Source: http://salarjungmuseum.in/