Napier Museum

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Napier Museum
നേപ്പ്യർ കാഴ്ച ബെംഗ്ളാവ്
Napier Museum TVM.jpg
Established1855 (1855)
Location Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Coordinates 8°30′31″N76°57′18″E / 8.5086°N 76.955°E / 8.5086; 76.955
Type Art museum, Archaeology museum
Founder Marthanda Varma II   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Website www.napiermuseum.org
India relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Napier Museum
നേപ്പ്യർ കാഴ്ച ബെംഗ്ളാവ്
[ edit on Wikidata]

The Napier Museum is an art and natural history museum situated in Thiruvananthapuram, India. [1]

Contents

The Museum is grounds to the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, one of the oldest zoological gardens in India. The zoo was established in 1857 over 55 acres (220,000 m2) of land. [2] It also contains the Sree Chitra Art Gallery, a separate art gallery established in 1935.

The set of museums, along with the zoo, are managed by the Department of Museums and Zoos, a branch of the Department of Cultural Affairs of Kerala.

History

A building was constructed in 1857 during the reign of Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma, [3] and later demolished in 1874 to lay foundation for a new building, during the reign of Ayilyam Thirunal. [4]

The Governor of Madras in 1872 appointed Robert Chisholm, a consulting architect of the Madras Government to design a new museum. In 1880, construction finished and the museum opened to the public, bearing the namesake of its governor, Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier.

The Indo-Saracenic structure lacks an air conditioning system. Although it has never been an issue due to suitable natural ventilation, an annex built in 2016 was noted for various problems such as mold, insects and corrosion owing to the lack of windows and openings. Since 2017, the annexed museum depot has been under review and is being rebuilt. Furthermore, the Napier Museum itself is being renovated. [5]

Design

Some of the building features include a gothic roof and minarets. The Napier Museum, a landmark of the city, is noted for its unique ornamentation and architectural style, which is influenced by Indian, Chinese, Kerala and Mughal Schools of Architecture. [6]

The museum has a bandstand with concealed speakers and special acoustics. In the old days,[ when? ] the band of the Travancore Nair Brigade would play there every Friday. Later,[ when? ] the police band would play on Saturdays. [7]

The museum owns a garden which has many varieties of flowers and trees. It also shelters the oldest living rubber tree in Kerala. It was brought there in 1876 from Ceylon and planted in the museum grounds by Visakham Thirunal. [8] [9]

Collection

The museum houses a rare collection of archaeological and historic artifacts, bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a temple chariot and ivory carvings. The Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are the inspiration for the museum's collection of Javanese shadow play leather puppets. [10]

Timings

Visiting Hours: Open 10.00 – 16.45 hrs. Closed on Mondays, Wednesday forenoons, 26 January, 15 August, Thiruvonam and Mahanavami. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiruvananthapuram</span> Metropolis and capital of Kerala, India

Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the largest and most populous city in Kerala. The encompassing urban agglomeration population is around 1.68 million. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a major information technology hub in Kerala and contributes 55% of the state's software exports as of 2016. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travancore</span> Kingdom in southern India from 1729 to 1949

The Kingdom of Travancore, also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor or later as Travancore State, was kingdom that lasted from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin. However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma</span> Last ruling Maharajah of Travancore from 1924–1949

Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancore until 1991. His reign is known for several notable reforms that have indelible impact on the society and culture of Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiruvananthapuram district</span> District in Kerala, India

Thiruvananthapuram District is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present district was created in 1956 by separating the four southernmost Taluks of the erstwhile district to form Kanyakumari district. The city of Thiruvananthapuram is also known as the Information technology capital of the State, since it is home to the first and largest IT park in India, Technopark, established in 1990. The district is home to more than 9% of total population of the state.

The history of Thiruvananthapuram dates back to the 18th century AD. In 1795, the city became the capital of the princely state of Travancore. Several historic landmarks of the city, including the Kowdiar Palace, University of Kerala, and Napier Museum were built during that period. After independence, Thiruvananthapuram was made the capital of the state of Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Thiruvananthapuram</span>

The city of Thiruvananthapuram has been the centre of cultural activities of Kerala (India) from the time it was made capital of Travancore in 1745. The capital city is a major intellectual and artistic center. The Thiruvananthapuram Museum and Thiruvananthapuram Zoo were started during the reign of Swathi Thirunal (1813–1847) and are one of the oldest of their kind in India. The city's libraries include the Trivandrum Public library, which was started in 1829. The Swathi Thirunal College of Music and 'College of fine arts' are the leading institutions related to music and arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala State Road Transport Corporation</span> Transport corporation of Kerala

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones, and its headquarters is in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Daily scheduled service has increased from 1,500,000 kilometres (930,000 mi) to 1,700,000 kilometres (1,100,000 mi), using 5400 buses on 4500 routes. The corporation transports an average of 3.545 million commuters per day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kulathupuzha</span> Village in Kerala, India

Kulathupuzha is a town in the eastern part of Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is one of the important pilgrim spots linked with the legend of Sabarimala. It is the birthplace of the Malayalam music composer Raveendran. Kulathupuzha is the source of the Kallada river, Thenmala Dam (KIP) is located on this river. As declared by the Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Kulathupuzha panchayat is the first in India to have achieved Constitution-literacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiruvananthapuram Zoo</span> Zoo in Kerala, India

The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is located in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, India. It occupies 55 acres (22 ha) of woodland, lakes, and lawns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuthiramalika</span>

Kuthiramalika is a palace built by Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma on the south-eastern side of Padmanabhaswamy temple, Thiruvananthapuram.

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Sri Padmanabha DasaSir Sri Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma VFRAS, also known as Rama Varma the Learned, was the Maharaja of Travancore from 1880 to 1885 AD, succeeding his elder brother Ayilyam Thirunal on the musnud, or throne. He was a noted scholar of Sanskrit and literary composer in Malayalam, who reversed his brother's policy, liberally patronizing poet Kerala Varma, while hostile to painter Raja Ravi Varma.

Pattom is a dense commercial region of Thiruvananthapuram city in Kerala, India. It is located approximately 4 kilometres north of centre of Thampanoor. Pattom is largely a residential area, also housing few important administration offices of Kerala State and a few shopping complexes. It has offices of Kerala Public Service Commission, Kerala State Planning Board, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Office, LIC Housing Finance Limited, State Resource Centre, District Panjayat Headquarters, Fire and Rescue Department Headquarters, Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma), Employees Provident Fund Regional Office and Kerala State Electricity Board. The Traffic Police and Telecommunication department, and the Kerala Science, Technology and Environment Head Office are also located in Pattom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kanakakkunnu Palace</span> Historical building in India

Kanakakkunnu Palace is situated in Thiruvananthapuram near the Napier museum, India. It served as an official residence for Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer during his dewanship, in addition to Bhakti Vilas and Padma Vilas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sree Chitra Art Gallery</span>

Sree Chitra Art Gallery is an art gallery in Thiruvananthapuram, India, established in 1935. It is located in the northern grounds of the Napier Museum. It was inaugurated by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma. The gallery features a unique collection of traditional and contemporary paintings, including the works of Raja Ravi Varma, Nicholas Roerich, Svetoslav Roerich, Jamini Roy, Rabindranath Tagore, V. S. Valiathan, C. Raja Raja Varma, and K. C. S. Paniker. There are approximately 1100 paintings at the gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiruvalla railway station</span> Railway station in Kerala

Tiruvalla railway station is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is one of the busiest railway station in Thiruvananthapuram Central-Kollam-Kottayam-Ernakulam route, located at Thiruvalla town in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. Tiruvalla is the only railway station in the Pathanamthitta District. The station is under Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway. It is an NSG 3 category station and has daily trains to cities like Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Madurai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Pune, Bhopal, Mumbai and New Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parassala B. Ponnammal</span> Indian Carnatic musician (1924–2021)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. G. Sasibhooshan</span>

Dr. M. G. Sasibhooshan is an orator, writer, art historian, and consultant in Indology based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

References

  1. ↑ "Napier Museum". Department of Tourism (Kerala). Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് കുട്ടികളുമായി യാത്ര പോകാം; തീർച്ചയായും കണ്ടിരിക്കേണ്ട കാഴ്ചകളിതാ". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "Napier Museum in India , The Napier Museum is an art and natural history museum situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. The ..." www.greatarchaeology.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  4. ↑ M, Athira (20 April 2018). "Room for radio at the Napier Museum". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  5. ↑ Johanna Runkel; Gabriela Krist; Tanushree Gupta (31 October 2018). "Collection Care in Napier Museum in Trivandrum, India". International Institute for Conservation. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Napier Museum in Thiruvananthapuram". Kerala Tourism. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  7. ↑ M, Athira (20 April 2018). "Room for radio at the Napier Museum". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  8. ↑ V.n, Aswin (8 March 2018). "The capital's grand old rubber tree". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "Spotting Kerala's oldest rubber tree is a walk in the park". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "Napier Museum in Thiruvananthapuram". Kerala Tourism. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Napier Museum, Sree Chithra Art Gallery, Museum Compound, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India". Keralatourism.org. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
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