Government Museum, Chennai

Government Museum, Chennai
	Museum Theatre, the front façade of the Government Museum, Chennai
	Government Museum, Egmore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Established	1851;173 years ago
Location	Egmore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates	13°04′16″N80°15′25″E / 13.0711°N 80.2569°E
Type	Art museum, History museum
Collection size	1.7 million
Visitors	602,345 (2018)
Owner	Ministry of Culture, Government of India
Public transit access	Chennai Egmore (Suburban)
Website	www.govtmuseumchennai.org

Last updated February 01, 2024

The Government Museum, Chennai, or the Madras Museum, is a museum of human history and culture located in the Government Museum Complex in the neighbourhood of Egmore in Chennai, India. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in India after the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It has the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe. Among them, the colossal Museum Theatre is one of the most impressive.^[1] The National Art Gallery is also present in the museum premises. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, it houses rare European and Asian painting of renowned artists, including that of Raja Ravi Varma.^[2]^[3] It had 0.6 million visitors in 2018. It has the richest collections of bronze idols, 500 of them dating to 1000 BCE, in Asia.^[4]

Location

The museum is located in what is known as the Pantheon complex, or "public assembly rooms." It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road in Egmore. The road on which the museum is located too takes its name from the complex. The Government Museum Complex also houses the Connemara Public Library and the National Art Gallery.

History

In August 1778, the governor of Madras granted 43 acres for an estate to a civil servant, who, subsequently in 1793, assigned the grounds to a committee of 24 which then regulated the public amusements in the city. In 1821, the committee sold the main house and central garden space to E. S. Moorat, an Armenian merchant who, in turn, sold it back to the government in 1830. The government first used the buildings and the grounds as the collector's "Cutcherry" and later for the "Central Museum."^[5] The museum was originally established in a building on College Road in Nungambakkam in the year 1851 and was shifted to the present site in 1854.

Many additions to the original building were constructed between 1864 and 1890. The core of the old museum building includes the only surviving remnants of the Pantheon, identified from the broad steps leading into it when viewed from the north. Amongst the additions is the Connemara Public Library, built with stained glass windows, ornate woodwork and elaborate stucco decorations, formally opened in 1896 and named after its progenitor. The building was built by Namberumal Chetty and was designed by Henry Irwin, with the interiors resembling those of Bank of Madras (SBI). The design included a huge reading room with a wooden ceiling between two curved rows of stained glass, supported by ornate pillars and arches embellished with sculpted acanthus leaves. It was supplemented with teakwood furniture, marbled floor, and decorative windows. All of these were restored in 2004–2007. The building now houses the Old Collection (pre-1930), which is used for reference purpose only.^[5]

Both the museum and the library benefited greatly from the effects of the Madras Literary Society, the Oriental Manuscripts Library and the Records Office. The museum houses a 19th-century theatre, with the "pit" meant for those who can afford more and seating for the rest of the audience in tiered-seats arranged in a semi-circle around the pit. Restoration to mark the 150th anniversary of the museum replaced 25 fans with air-conditioning.

The museum's collections had its origin from a gift of a collection of 1,100 geological specimens by the Madras Literary Society to the Government in 1851. The museum, the first government-sponsored one in the country, opened the same year on the first floor of the college of Fort St. George, adjacent to the Literary Society in Nungambakkam, with an exhibit of nearly 20,000 freely gifted specimens ranging from rocks to books. These gifts were in response to a public invitation that did not have a cut-off date. When the mounting collection of geological specimens threatened the stability of this first floor, the museum's first officer-in-charge, Surgeon Edward Balfour, who was then president of the Literary Society and serving the museum in an honorary capacity, suggested moving to a new building, which was materialised in 1854 with the move to the Pantheon. A library and a reading room were provided for the public in 1859. In 1864, an upper storey was added to the Pantheon in sympathetic style, giving the museum more elbow room. The library got a new block, now known as the centenary exhibition hall of the museum after restoration, in the northwest corner of the Pantheon in 1876, with a lecture hall. By 1896, there had been built new buildings for the museum (where the anthropological and arms galleries are presently located), the Connemara Library and the museum theatre.^[5]

The museum grounds also housed the first zoo of Madras in 1855, which was also established by Balfour. A year later, it had over 300 animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles. The zoo was later made a separate institution and was shifted to the People's Park in 1863 where it remained, not growing very much, until it was moved to its present location at Vandalur in 1985.^[5]

An official website for the museum was launched on 25 October 2001 after the government sanctioned ₹ 0.5 million in 2000–2001.

List of superintendents/directors/commissioners

S.No.	Name	Designation	Tenure
1	Surgeon E. Balfour	First officer in charge	1851–1859
2	Captain J. Mitchell	Superintendent	1859–1872
3	Surgeon G. Bidie, C.I.E.	Superintendent	1872–1884
4	Edgar Thurston	Superintendent	1885–1908
5	J. R. Henderson	Superintendent	1908–1919
6	F. H. Gravely	Superintendent	1920–1940
7	A. Aiyappan	Superintendent	1940–1975
8	S. T. Satyamurthi	Superintendent	1961–1978
9	N. Harinarayana	Director of museums	1978–1989
10	G. Kesavaram	Director of museums	1989–1991
11	M. Raman, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	1991–1993
12	T. R. Ramasamy, I.A.S.	Director of museums	1993
13	M. Ramu, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	1993–1995
14	Naresh Gupta, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	1995–1996
15	K. Dheenadayalan, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	1996–1997
16	S. Rangamani, I.A.S.	Principal commissioner	1997–1999
17	R. Kannan, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	1999–2004
18	M. A. Siddique, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2004–2006
19	R. Kannan, I.A.S.	Special commissioner and commissioner of museums	2006–2007
20	Sitharam Gurumurthi, I.A.S.	Principal commissioner (additional charge)	2007
21	Shanthini Kapoor, I.A.S.	Principal secretary/Commissioner of museums	2007–2008
22	T. S. Sridhar, I.A.S.	Principal secretary/Commissioner of museums	2008–2011
23	S. S. Jawahar, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	2011-2013
24	R. Kannan, I.A.S.	Principal Secretary/Commissioner of museums (Additional Charge)	2013
25	P. R. Shampath, I.A.S.	Principal Secretary/Commissioner of museums	2013
26	R. Kannan, I.A.S.	Principal Secretary/Commissioner of museums (Additional Charge)	2013-2014
27	R. Kannan, I.A.S.	Additional Chief Secretary/ Commissioner of museums (Additional Charge)	2014-2015
28	D. Karthikeyan, I.A.S.	Commissioner (Additional Charge)	2015
29	D. Jagannathan, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2015-2017
30	Kavitha Ramu, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2017 -2018
31	Pinky Jowel, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2018
32	Kavitha Ramu, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2018-2019
33	T. Udhayachandran, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2019-2021
34	M. S. Shanmugam, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	2020-2021
35	T. P. Rajesh, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2021
36	S. A. Raman, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2021-2022
37	Sandeep Nanduri, I.A.S.	Director of museums	2022-2023
38	A. Suganthi, I.A.S.	Commissioner of Museums	2023
39	M. Arvind, I.A.S.	Commissioner of museums	2023

The museum complex

The museum complex consisting of six buildings and 46 galleries covers an area of around 16.25 acres (66,000 m²) of land. The objects displayed in the museum cover a variety of artifacts and objects covering diverse fields including archeology, numismatics, zoology, natural history, sculptures, palm-leaf manuscripts, and Amravati paintings.

Located close to the main museum entrance gates on Pantheon Road, the museum theatre is a rare specimen of the Italianate style of architecture, inspired by Classical architecture and developed in 1802 at Britain by John Nash. However, the theatre was built by the British in the late 19th century when this style was no longer popular in England. The structure has a high plinth and is accessed through a tall flight of stairs. It is primarily a semicircular structure with a rectangular wing at the rear. The latter wing now houses some of the galleries of the museum. The main hall is accessed through a verandah with a row of columns linked by semicircular arches. The walls and columns are embellished with floral and geometric designs.

The huge main hall was initially designed for staging theatrical performances. It has around 600 seats and a commodious stage and the actors' dressing rooms adjoin this stage.

During the British era, the theatre was mainly used for staging English plays preferred by the British elite of the city. Now, the museum has been using the theatre for its own cultural and academic programs such as art workshops, lectures and conferences. It also rents the hall for various cultural performances, mainly dramas. The hall has witnessed several plays including those of Shakespeare.

Since August 2004, the museum is also a designated "Manuscript Conservation Centre" (MCC) under the National Mission for Manuscripts established in 2003. The museum has taken preventive care of about 19,007 manuscripts and given curative conservation treatment to about 7,402 manuscripts.^[6]

The museum for children in the complex houses several static exhibits such as galleries of dolls adorned with costumes of various nations and civilisations and also exhibits pertaining to science, transportation, and technology.^[7]

Visitors

As of 2013, the children's museum is visited by 1,000 people a day, and the number of visitors increases during weekends.^[7]

The future

An air-conditioned 3D theatre, the first of its kind facility in a state museum, is under construction at the children's museum in the museum complex at a cost of ₹ 4 million. Equipments are to be provided by the National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata. The theatre will screen science-oriented films. It screen a 20-minute-long film and will play five shows a day. The project is expected to be completed by April 2013. There are also plans to upgrade the 3D theatre to a 5D one.^[7]

In 2018, the Department of Museums started evaluating bids for renovating the museum as part of an Asian Development Bank–funded scheme.^[8]

Gallery

Sculpture of Vishnu in bronze from the Chola period
Sculpture of Bhadrakali in bronze from the 14th century CE
Sculpture of Dakshinamurthi from the Chola period, 12th century CE
Sculpture of Mahishasuramardini in bronze from the Chola period, 11th century CE
Tribal artifacts from Assam

Related Research Articles

The Connemara Public Library at Egmore in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the four National Depository Libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. Established in 1896, the library is a repository of century-old publications, wherein 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. It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road, Egmore, which also houses the Government Museum and the National Art Gallery.

Tambaram is a city located within the Chennai Metropolitan Area in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The city is governed by Tambaram City Municipal Corporation.

Henry Irwin was an architect of British India. He is mainly known for his works in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. He was a member of the Institution of Engineers. He was awarded a CIE in the 1888 Birthday Honours.

Chennai Egmore, formerly known as Madras Egmore, also known as Chennai Elumbur, is a railway station in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Situated in the neighborhood of Egmore, it is one of the four intercity railway terminals in the city; the other three are Chennai Central railway station, Tambaram railway station and Chennai Beach railway station. The station was built in 1906–1908 as the terminus of the South Indian Railway Company. The building built in Indo Saracenic style is one of the prominent landmarks of Chennai. The main entrance to the station is situated on Gandhi-Irwin Road and the rear entrance on Poonamallee High Road.

Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway and later, the metre gauge section of the Southern division of the Indian Railways. It continues to be an important railway junction. The Government Museum, Chennai is also situated in Egmore. Other important institutions based in Egmore include the Government Women and Children's Hospital, the Tamil Nadu State Archives and the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department. The Wesley Church, Egmore is the oldest church of the region.

Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multi-national commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, tourist spots, star hotels, restaurants, and cultural centers. Nungambakkam is also a prime residential area in Chennai. The adjoining regions of Nungambakkam include Egmore, Chetpet, T. Nagar, Kodambakkam and Choolaimedu.

Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Tamil temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style of the colonial era, to 20th-century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port, punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.

Anna Salai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towards St. Thomas Mount, and ends at the Kathipara Junction in Guindy. Beyond the Kathipara Junction, a branch road arises traversing westwards to Poonamallee to form the Mount-Poonamallee Road while the main branch continuing southwards to Chennai Airport, Tambaram and beyond to form Grand Southern Trunk Road. Anna Salai, which is more than 400 years old, is acknowledged as the most important road in Chennai city. The head offices of many commercial enterprises and public buildings are located along Anna Salai. It is the second longest road in Chennai, after EVR Periyar Salai.

Cholamandal Artists' Village is an artists' commune in Chennai, India. Established in 1966, it is the largest artists' commune in India. The community is located in the southern coastal neighborhood of Injambakkam. Its artists are credited for the Madras Movement of Art (1950s–1980s), which brought modernism to art in South India. Their work is widely recognized as some of the best art produced in postwar India and is shown regularly in galleries across the country. Several Cholamandal artists have also shown in Europe, the United States and South America.

The Anna Centenary Library (ACL) is an established state library of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is located at Kotturpuram, Chennai. It is built at a cost of ₹172 crores. It is named after a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, C. N. Annadurai. It was opened by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. The average number of persons who visited the library between January and October 2011 is around 26,500, compared to the monthly average of 20,000 in 2010.

Southern Railway headquarters administrative building, Chennai, is an Indo-Saracenic structure located adjacent to the Chennai Central on Poonamallee High Road.

The National Art Gallery situated in Egmore, Chennai, is one of the oldest art galleries in India. It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road, Egmore, which also houses the Government Museum and the Connemara Public Library. Constructed with red stones sourced from Satyavedu in Andhra Pradesh, the Gallery was built in 1906 in Indo-Saracenic architecture and houses paintings from Thanjavur, Rajasthan, Kangra and Deccan areas, as well as sandalwood sculptures. The Gallery has remained closed since 2002, as part of the structure suffered damage.

Tamil Nadu is known for its ancient temple architecture. Nearly 33,000 ancient temples, many at least 800 to 2000 years old, are found scattered all over Tamil Nadu. As per Tamil Nadu Hindu Endowments Board, there are 38,615 temples. Most of the largest Hindu Temples reside here. Studded with complex architecture, a variety of sculptures, and rich inscriptions, the temples remain the very essence of the culture and heritage of Tamil land, with historical records dating back to at least 3,000 years.

This is a timeline of major events in the history of Chennai.

Chennai, with historically rich records dating at least from the time of the Pallavas, houses 2,467 heritage buildings within its metropolitan area (CMA), the highest within any metropolitan area limit in India. Most of these buildings are around 200 years old and older. Chennai is home to the second largest collection of heritage buildings in the country, after Kolkata. The official list of heritage buildings was compiled by the Justice E. Padmanabhan committee. The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed the Heritage Commission Act in 2012 to preserve old heritage structures.

The Amaravati Collection, sometimes called the Amaravati Marbles, is a series of 120 sculptures and inscriptions in the British Museum from the Amaravati Stupa in Amaravathi, Guntur in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Amaravati artefacts entered the Museum's collection in the 1880s. The Amaravati sculptures were sometimes also called the Elliot Marbles on account of their association in with Sir Walter Elliot, who had them removed from the site to Madras in the 1840s.

The Madras Literary Society is a learned society in Chennai, India which was founded in 1817 and in 1830 it became associated with the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. It was founded by Sir John Henry Newbolt, Chief Justice of Madras with Benjamin Guy Babington as the founder secretary. The Society produced a journal called the Transactions of the Literary Society of Madras and from 1833 under the name of [Madras] Journal of Literature and Science. Most of the early members were Europeans and the first Indian to be admitted was Kavali Lakshmayya who worked with Colin Mackenzie. The journal ceased publication in 1894. The journal published extensive researches on geology, meteorology, fauna, flora, culture and history. Some of the major contributors to the journal included Thomas C. Jerdon and Walter Elliot. The library run by the society in a red sandstone building in the Department of Public Instruction complex in Nungambakkam is the oldest functional public library in the city and one of the oldest in India. The Government Museum, Chennai started as an extension of the Madras Literary Society library in Nungambakkam before moving to the present premises in Pantheon Road, Egmore. In 1890, a major part of the library's book collection was moved to a new building in the same premises as the museum to form the Connemara Public Library. The main library continues to exist in the premises of the DPI, taken care of by a dedicated committee members and patrons.

Tamil Nadu Police Museum is a museum in Chennai, India. Located in Pantheon Road in the neighbourhood of Egmore, the museum was opened in September 2021. The museum has a repository of exhibits marking the passage of the state's law enforcement agency from colonial India to the modern day.

References

↑ Suresh, S. (21 May 2011). "Times Property Section". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. p. 2.
↑ J.Jeyaraj, George. "Indo Saracenic Architecture in Chennai" (PDF). CMDA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
↑ "heritage buildings" (PDF). CMDA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
↑ ""Demand for audio-guides at museum for information on artefacts"". Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
1 2 3 4 "Museum, Library and Theatre". Madras Musings. XX (3). 16–31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
↑ "Manuscript Conservation Centres". National Mission for Manuscripts. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
1 2 3 Lakshmi, K. (19 February 2013). "Coming up: 3D theatre at govt. museum". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
↑ Rohit, T. K. (28 August 2018). "Bids under evaluation for Egmore Museum facelift". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2018.

External links

Official website

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Suresh, S. (21 May 2011). "Times Property Section". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. p. 2.

[2] J.Jeyaraj, George. "Indo Saracenic Architecture in Chennai" (PDF). CMDA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2012.

[3] "heritage buildings" (PDF). CMDA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.

[4] ""Demand for audio-guides at museum for information on artefacts"". Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.

[MM_MuseumLibraryAndTheatre-5] 1 2 3 4 "Museum, Library and Theatre". Madras Musings. XX (3). 16–31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.

[6] "Manuscript Conservation Centres". National Mission for Manuscripts. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.

[Hindu_3DTheatreComingUp-7] 1 2 3 Lakshmi, K. (19 February 2013). "Coming up: 3D theatre at govt. museum". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.

[8] Rohit, T. K. (28 August 2018). "Bids under evaluation for Egmore Museum facelift". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	Israel United States