Prince Of Wales Museum, Mumbai
About
George Wittet designed this Indo- Saracenic
style building, which houses the Prince of Wales
Museum. It also houses a priceless collection
of art, sculpture, a fine collection of miniature
paintings and much more. Amid the hustle and
bustle of Mumbai stand some stately buildings,
remnants of the British Raj. Among them is the
Prince of Wales Museum, named after Prince George
(Later George V) who visited India in 1905 and
laid the foundation stone of the building. Through
the arch the Prince made his royal entrance
to India as King George V for the Delhi Darbar
in 1911. This four-tiered goliath houses a priceless
collection of over 2000 miniature paintings
from various stylistic schools in India. Among
other artifacts feature a sizeable number of
relics of the Indus Valley Civilisation and
instances of Tibetan and Nepalese art.
History
This building was completed in 1914 and converted
to a military hospital during World War I. Finally
it was opened in 1923 by Lady Lloyd, the wife
of the then governor of Mumbai, Sir George Lloyd.
Architecture
The facing is done in yellow and blue stones
quarried from the Mumbai region. The dome is
modeled after the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur - Karnataka.
It incorporates a variety of details from different
Indian styles; Saracenic arches with Muslim
jalis as fillers, semi-open verandahs and Rajput
jharokhas. The structure forms a long rectangle
of three storeys, raised in the centre to accommodate
the entrance porch. Above the central arched
entrance rises a huge dome, tiled in white and
blue flecks, supported on a lotus-petal base.
Galleries
There's a lot to see in the Museum. It’s
a disservice if one rushes to see it all in
one go. To walk around the key gallery is like
experiencing 5,000 years of Indian art in a
capsule. The plan of the Museum is simple, with
a central hall from which the staircase leads
to the two upper floors with galleries branching
out on the right and left. An extension on the
right-hand side of the main building houses
the natural history section. The second floor
houses the Indian miniature painting gallery-the
pride of the museum, and next to it is galleries
of decorative art and, to the left of the central
well of the staircase, the gallery of Tibetan
and Nepali art. Above, on the second floor are
the European painting, armoury and textile galleries.
An excellent collection of Indian miniature
paintings occupies much of the second floor.
Some superb examples of the 19th century Pahari
School of painting displayed in the museum are
Shiva and Parvati (Kangra), Uma worshipping
Shiva. One can see Shiva and Parvati, where
Parvati is offering Shiva a garland of skulls.
Krishna with the Cows Herds (Garhwal, 18th century)
and the work drawing of the holi Festival shows
Krishna and his friends throwing colour on Radha
and her companions to celebrate the spring festival
of Holi. Other paintings of importance on display
include Aurangzeb reading the Quran (Pahari,
Jammu), the painting of Raja Balwant Deva with
his Barber (Jammu, 18th century), one can almost
read the barber's thoughts, the painting of
the Lady with an Attendant and a Peacock (Pahari,
Kangra, 1775) is remarkably beautiful and lyrical
work. There are some typical examples of Deccani
School of paintings having pale green, mineral-coloured
backgrounds with figures placed squarely in
the foreground. The collection of paintings
from Bundi, of the 18th century, in this gallery
deals with the theme of love. This floor also
has fine examples of Nepalese and Tibetan art,
including a beautiful 12th century Maitreya,
with his head surrounded by a halo, slightly
inclined. The Tata family, a large industrial
house with interests in the sciences and the
arts, donated the collection displayed in The
Nepal and Tibet gallery. The Buddhist and Hindu
images in metal are gilded, and studded with
gems. Statuettes of Tara-the Buddhist goddess
of compassion, Vajradhara-Lord of the Thunderbolt,
and of Lakshmi Narayana are studded with turquoise,
ruby and diamond. The tiny Avalokitesvara from
Nepal, of the 17th century is the most beautiful
one.
Glass and Jade collections
The gallery on the second floor presents an
extensive collection of art objects donated
by Sir Ratan Tata and Sir Dorab Tata and its
interesting for those interested in glass, jade
and porcelain. The collection includes objects
carved in rock crystal, metal ware and lacquered
woodwork. There are samples of Indian jewelry
and object in silver, enameled jars and hookah
stands. Some jade objects and samples of Bidri
work are also on display. Fine examples of elaborate
ivory work from Japan, like the Cock on a Tree,
with feathers of ivory are also seen. There
is also a section devoted to porcelain and glassware-much
of it from China. It also contains two galleries
of largely European oil paintings, including
three murky Constables, a Bonnington and a Gainsborough.
On entering this area it immediately becomes
clear that European art historians dubbed Indian
paintings 'miniatures' because they were familiar
with. Rather charming are the two portraits
of Lady Ratan Tata and Lady Dorabji Tata, which,
if viewed from a distance look exactly like
portraits of English ladies, complete with gloves
and fans, dressed in the fashion of their British
rulers. On the mezzanine level, is a small gallery
devoted to Indian prehistory and protohistory,
consisting largely of primitive tools and ornaments
excavated by Sir John Marshall in Mohenjodaro
in 1922. On the first floor central balcony
of the museum are displayed objects of decorative
art in ivory, silver and wood of the late 18th
and the 19th centuries. Some paintings have
also been displayed in this area, leading the
visitor into the picture gallery. The paintings,
donated by various patrons, from one of India's
best public collections of work, representative
of many styles and schools. At the entrance
of the gallery, to the left, in the first cubicle,
is an illustrated manuscript of the Kalpasutra
and the Kalikacharyakatha of western India,
dated to the end of the 15th century.
The Natural History Section
The Society houses spectrum of preserved flora
and fauna. At a nominal fee, you can gain access
to the old nature books in the Society library.
The Natural History Section was added to the
museum from the collection of the Bombay Natural
History Society. This section has a large selection
of Indian birds, a low-tech but educational
exhibit on snakes, and stuffed examples of the
usual suspects ranging from rhinos to monkeys
and lions to deer. The highlight is definitely
the freakish 20-foot-long saw fish that must
have shocked fishermen when they hauled it up
in their nets in the waters off Government House
in 1938. All the exhibits are well labeled.
Timings
10.15 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Closed On Mondays. The
dome was designed consciously to add to the
variety of the skyline and to provide a landmark
at ground level.
In Vasai, 55 Kms from Mumbai By road, it is
77 Kms along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.
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