State Museum, Bhopal

{{Short description|Art, culture museum in Madhya Pradesh, India}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox museum | name = State Museum | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = State Museum Bhopal entrance gate.jpg | caption = State Museum entrance gate | established = 1964 | location = Shyamla Hills, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India | type = Art and Culture Museum |collection_size = {{ubl|11,515 items|(No. on display: 3,634 |Items in reserve: 68%){{sfnp|Audit Report|2022|p=74}}}} | visitors = 20,683 (12 months 2019–2020){{sfnp|Audit Report|2022|pp=79–80}} | director = | website = | coordinates = }} [[File:Inside View of State Museum Bhopal.jpg|thumb|View from inside the State Museum]] The '''State Museum Bhopal''' is located on Shymala Hills, in Bhopal, the capital city of the state of [[Madhya Pradesh]] in India.<ref name="outlook">{{Cite web |title=Museums of Bhopal |date=20 January 2020 |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/traveller/mp/visual-escape/photo-gallery/museums-of-bhopal/ |access-date=2021-05-20 |website=Outlook Traveller |language=en-US}}</ref> It is popular for its design and the breadth of its inventory of art and cultural artefacts. The museum holds a prominent role among the monuments and museums of [[Bhopal]].<ref name="Trvlour">{{Cite web|title=State Museum Bhopal in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India |url=https://www.travalour.com/attraction/3449-state-museum-bhopal|access-date=2021-05-20|website=Travalour|language=en}}</ref> It is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2008-08-28|title=Museums in Central Zone |website=Department of Archaeology, Archives, and Museums |publisher= Government of Madhya Pradesh |url=http://www.mparchaeology.org/centMuseums.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828111345/http://www.mparchaeology.org/centMuseums.html |archive-date=28 August 2008 |access-date=2021-05-20 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

== The building == The State Museum Bhopal was established in 1964.<ref name="Trvlour"/> Its current building was inaugurated on 2 November 2005, by the Madhya Pradesh [[Chief minister|Chief Minister]], [[Shivraj Singh Chouhan]].<ref name="MP arch">{{Cite web|date=n.d. |website=Department of Archaeology, Archives, and Museums |publisher= Government of Madhya Pradesh |url=https://archaeology.mp.gov.in/contents.aspx?page=state-museum-bhopal&number=r9UDa6hJQzuqjNqXQx+TXA== |title=State Museum Bhopal |archive-date=8 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208001431/https://archaeology.mp.gov.in/contents.aspx?page=state-museum-bhopal&number=r9UDa6hJQzuqjNqXQx+TXA==}}</ref> It has a contemporary design and was built to catch abundant natural light. The modern and architecturally innovative facility features wide spaces accessible by [[ramps]].<ref name="Trvlour"/>

== Collections and display == [[File:Panchmukhi Ganesha Statue India (cropped).jpg|thumb|A 5-headed [[Ganesh]] statue in the museum]] As the state's flagship museum, the State Museum Bhopal aims to present important and representative art and cultural artefacts of Madhya Pradesh.<ref name="outlook" /> Areas in which the museum holds strong collections are: stone carving and sculpture; coinage and postage stamps; textiles and costumes; documents and epigraphs; medieval arms and armoury; royal collections from princely states; [[Mughal painting|miniature painting]] and illuminated manuscripts.<ref name="mp tour">{{cite web |title=Discovering State Museum Bhopal: A Timeless Journey |url=https://www.mptourism.com/state-museum-bhopal.html |website=Madhya Pradesh Tourism |publisher=Government of Madhya Pradesh |date=25 September 2023}}</ref>

=== The galleries === Inside the main building, there are seventeen specialised galleries, which are categorised by theme.<ref name="MP arch" /> These are—

Painting and sculptural galleries: * [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|Miniature painting]] * Gallery of Madhya Pradesh sculptural styles (a summary survey gallery) * Sculpture * Bronzes (metal sculpture)

Prehistory and antiquity: * Ancient inscriptions gallery * Bagh Caves paintings gallery * Prehistoric and fossils gallery * Excavated materials gallery

Galleries of cultural and historical collections: * Archival gallery * Manuscripts * Postage stamps and autographs * Coinage * Rare musical instruments * Freedom Movement, housing artefacts associated with India's struggle for independence * Royal collections * Costumes * Weaponry

===Collection highlights=== The museum's sculpture collection includes many ancient works, especially from the period of the 8th to 12th centuries. A still older sculptural highlight is the [[Yakshini]] (female nature spirits) statues from about 200 BC and a black granite Buddha.<ref name="Times Trav">{{cite news |last1=Mulchandani |first1=Anil |title= State Museum |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/bhopal/state-museum/ps50138891.cms |work=The Times of India |date=11 December 2015 |id=Times Travel}}</ref>

Amongst its antiquities, the museum houses a group of nine rock-cut reproductions of the Buddhist murals from the [[Bagh Caves]], of which some of the originals are now destroyed or lost, as well as 84 rare Jain bronze articles of the 12th century,<ref name="MP arch" /> from the [[Dhar district]] of [[Malwa]]. Dhar district is in the western side of Madhya Pradesh.<ref name="Times Trav"/>

Included in the museum's illuminated manuscript collection are [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature paintings]] depicting events from the [[Mahabharata]] and the [[Ramayana]].<ref name="MP arch" />

In its postage stamps and autographs gallery, the museum has an example of the first postage stamp of the world, the [[Penny Black]], which was issued in the year 1840.<ref name="MP arch" />

== References == {{reflist}}

===Reports=== * {{citation |author1=Comptroller and Auditor General of India |title=Performance Audit on Management of Heritage Sites, Archives and Museums for the year ended 31 March 2021 |date=2022 |publisher=Government of Madhya Pradesh |url=https://cag.gov.in/webroot/uploads/download_audit_report/2022/Report-in-English_merged-064183a7c0e7087.04896345.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118061616/https://cag.gov.in/webroot/uploads/download_audit_report/2022/Report-in-English_merged-064183a7c0e7087.04896345.pdf |archive-date=18 November 2023 |language=en-IN |ref={{SfnRef|Audit Report|2022}} }}

[[Category:Museums in Madhya Pradesh]] [[Category:Museums in Bhopal]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Bhopal]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Bhopal]] [[Category:Organisations based in Bhopal]] [[Category:Theatrical organisations based in India]] [[Category:Libraries in India]] [[Category:1964 establishments in Madhya Pradesh]]