 Museum building gate | |
 | |
| Established | 1 July 1877 (1877-07-01) |
|---|---|
| Location | Bhuj,Kutch,Gujarat, India |
| Coordinates | 23°14′55″N69°39′59″E / 23.24861°N 69.66639°E /23.24861; 69.66639 |
| Type | Local museum,History museum,Art Museum |
| Founder | Khengarji III |
Kutch Museum is a museum located opposite to theHamirsar Lake inBhuj, in theKutch district ofGujarat, India. It is the oldest museum of Gujarat which was founded in 1877. It is located oppositeHamirsar Lake. The museum was earlier known asFergusson Museum.[1][2]
Kutch museum was initially established as a part of the School of Arts established byKhengarji III, the Maharao ofCutch State. It was founded on 1 July 1877.[3][1][4][5][2] At the time of Maharao Khengarji III's marriage on 19 February 1884 many new items were received and for exhibition of which, a need for new building was necessitated. As such, on 14 November 1884, the foundation stone for the present museum building was laid by the Governor of Bombay,Sir James Fergusson and named Fergusson Museum after him by Maharao of Cutch. The building consisting of two floors which cost Rs. 32000 to construct at that time. The museum, constructed in theItalian Gothic style, is located on the bank ofHamirsar Lake just opposite to the Nazar Bagh Garden.[3] It was designed by the state engineer - Mc Lelland[5] and built by local builders known asMistris of Kutch under supervision ofState Gaidher - Jairam Ruda Gajdhar.[6][7] The museum remained the preserve of the Maharao of Cutch, till 1948, who showed it only to his personal guests. In those days, the museum was opened to the public only on important religious occasions.[3][5]
The museum has the largest existing collection ofKshatrapa inscriptions, dating to the 1st century. The oldest Kshatrapa six inscription-stones found in Andhau village in Khavda are moved here. They are originally on the hillock and calledLashti. They were erected in time ofRudradaman I.[8] The only GujaratiAbhira inscription of the 3rd century is also here. It also has an example of the extinctKutchi script (now theKutchi language is mostly written in theGujarati script) and a collection of coins, including theKoris - the local currency of Kutch till 1948.[3][4][5]
The museum has almost 11 sections. The archaeological section has Indus seals. Different kinds of stone tablets are available also. The painting showing the different vocations of Kutch are on the display. There is also an excellent section which covers classical and musical instruments likeNagfani,Morchang and many others, which are put on the display of the museum.
A section of the museum is devoted to tribal cultures, with many examples of ancient artifacts, folk arts and crafts and information about tribal peoples. The museum also has exhibits of embroidery, paintings, arms, musical instruments, sculpture and precious metalwork.[4]
Thus, the museum broadly contains, a picture gallery, an anthropological section, an archeological section, textiles, weapons, musical instruments, a shipping section, and even stuffed animals.[1]
On the ground floor of the museum, in the center room, ‘Airavat’ is displayed. ‘Airavat’ is a carved, wooden, snow white Indian elephant with seven tusks. ‘Airavat’ was prepared inMandvi in the 18th century, in the worship ofTirthankar. The rest of its body is painted with flowers. The Indian Government issued a postal stamp in 1978, depicting this ‘Airavat’, under the postal series "Treasures of Museum".[3][5][9]
The oldest museum ofGujarat, Kutch Museum was also the first museum ofIndia to become online virtual museum in 2010.[10]
