Friday, June 18, 2010

Cont...Prince of Wales Museum,Mumbai (Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya)

Museum Building and its History (Architect, style, conservation)

It is a Grade I Heritage Building of the city and is set in a well laid out garden which retains its original plan. It has been awarded first place for Heritage Building Maintenance by the Indian Heritage Society. Today, this museum houses about 50,000 artefacts and has an outstanding collection comprising of sculptures, terracotta’s, bronzes, excavated artefacts from the Harappan sites, Indian miniature paintings, European paintings, porcelain and ivories from China and Japan, etc. Besides these, the Museum has a separate Natural History section. 





The architect of the building, George Wittet, was selected after an open competition in 1909. Wittet is known for the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture of which this museum is one of the best examples. The Indo-Saracenic style combines Hindu and Saracenic architectural forms, at times incorporating some elements of Western architecture. The Indian pillared hall, the arched pavilion, the dome rising above the huge intersecting arches forming a beautiful geometrical pattern-all these together make the Museum building a typical example of the Indo-Saracenic style. Small jalis for light and wind add to the grandeur of the building. George Wittet skilfully incorporated the original wooden arched pavilion purchased from a royal house (wada) at Nasik in Maharashtra, as a circular railing on the first floor of the building. The dome of this building is designed after the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur and the finial is copied from the Taj at Agra.
Sculpture ‘Brahmanical’ Gallery, Museum Archives, 1927
Far-Eastern Gallery, Museum Archives, 1927
George Wittet, Architect

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