Government Museum, Mathura, commonly referred to asMathura museum, is anarchaeological museum inMathura city ofUttar Pradesh state inIndia. The museum was founded by thencollector of theMathura district, SirF. S. Growse in 1874. Initially, it was known as Curzon Museum of Archaeology, then Archaeology Museum, Mathura, and finally changed to the Government Museum, Mathura.[1]
The museum houses artifacts pottery, sculptures, paintings, and coins primarily from in and around Mathura, plus discoveries made by noted colonial archaeologists likeAlexander Cunningham, F. S. Growse, and Fuhrer.[1]The museum is famous for ancient sculptures of theMathura school dating from 3rd century BC to 12th century AD., duringKushan Empire andGupta Empire.[2] today it is one of the leading museums of Uttar Pradesh.[3]
TheGovernment of India issued a postage stamp on 9 October 1974 on the centenary of the museum.
^"Naigamesa was a popular deity in the Kushana period and we have at least eight figures of this god from Mathura assignable to c. 1st to 3rd century A.D. (GMM., E. 1, 15.909, 15, 1001, 15. 1046,15. 1115, 34.2402, 34. 2547, SML., J 626, etc)" inJoshi, Nilakanth Purushottam (1986).Mātr̥kās, Mothers in Kuṣāṇa Art. Kanak Publications. p. 41.