Napier Museum, Trivandrum, India

BotMultichill

Thiruvananthapuram or Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala, is one of the leading tourist destinations in India. And when you are in Trivandrum, you should surely take a visit to the Napier Museum!

The Napier Museum is a popular art and natural history museum situated in Trivandrum. Although the museum was first established in 1855, the old Museum Building was demolished in 1874 and the foundation for a new building was laid. The new building, named after Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras from 1866-1872, acquired prominence as a remarkable architectural masterpiece. Designed by Robert Chisholm, the consulting architect of the Madras Government, the construction of the new building was completed in 1880. The Museum grounds also showcase a Zoological garden, which is regarded as one of the oldest in India.

A renowned landmark in the city, the Napier Museum is known for its rare and exquisite ornamentation and marvelous architectural style that comprise gothic roofs, tall minarets, stained glass windows and the use of bright colors such as blue, pink, yellow, red and white. Elegantly constructed in the Indo-Saracenic style, the splendid arches, finely carved balconies, red and white grilles and stone ornamentations would surely hold a visual treat for you! The museum also provides a natural air conditioning system. It houses a fabulous collection of numerous archaeological and historic artifacts, bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a massive temple chariot and beautiful ivory carvings. The museum also hosts the Sri Chitra Art Gallery, which contains works of some of the most eminent artists such as Raja Ravi Varma and Nicholas Roerich, as well as fascinating specimens of Mughal and Tanjore art.

The museum displays a rare idol of Vishnu that dates back to the 8th century. The idol has been retrieved from the Ambalapuzha temple and is regarded as the oldest known metal image in Kerala. The stone sculptures in the museum too belong to the same time period. A prominent attraction is the sculpture called Shiva with Sati. A 400 year old clock and a herbal coat worn by the Maharajas of Travancore are some of the other fascinating attractions.

Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Napier-Museum--Trivandrum--India/1328608#ixzz26d4EtDD9
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives

Napier Museum

As the name indicates, Napier Museum is a famous museum located in Trivandrum or Thiruvananthapuram (capital city) of Kerala. Actually this natural history museum was established in the year 1855 but the foundation of new building was laid on 1874. The museum was named as Napier Museum after Lord Napier, who was the Madras Governor from 1866-1872. It should be noted that this Napier Museum is also known in another name which is the Government Art Museum. The architectural beauty of Napier Museum has attracted several persons to the city. Chisholm, a British architect was the genius behind the architectural beauty of this museum. Also note that Mughal, Chinese, Italian & Kerala architectural styles are well combined in this museum. So without doubt we can say that Napier Museum is an excellent architectural building. Another point is that a unique natural air conditioning system is present in this Napier Museum. There is an Art Gallery (Sree Chithira Art Gallery) situated in the Napier Museum Compound. The important feature of this Sree Chithira Art Gallery is that it contains paintings collected from different parts of the world. The paintings of Raja Ravi Varma are also presented in this museum.

Important attractions of Napier Museum

In the Napier Museum you can see some important items like models of kathakali, kuftgiri works, ivory as well as wood carvings, stone & bronze sculptures, lamps, musical instruments, textiles, handicrafts, temple chariot, 400 year old clock, herbal coat used by the Travancore Maharajas, etc. Apart from this, coins which represent the different dynasties (Chola, Pandya and Chera) of our country are also presented in this museum. Also note that the museum is given an attractive look by tall minarets, stained glass windows, gothic roofs, high arches, stone ornamentations, white & red grilles, carved balconies etc.

Timings of Napier Museum

Timings: 10:00 AM -5:00 PM (Closed on Mondays, National Holidays, Wednesday forenoon)

How can you reach the Napier Museum?

All persons are interested in seeing certain sights. Museums are important attractions for almost all people. In simple terms we can say that Napier Museum is located beside Mascot hotel. If a person wishes to visit the Napier Museum, he should first reach Trivandrum either by flight, bus or train. It should be noted that the Trivandrum International Airport, Trivandrum Central Railway Station & the Trivandrum Central Bus Stand are located in the city itself. So if you reach Trivandrum by using any of the above methods, then you can reach the Napier Museum by hiring a taxi, bus or auto rickshaws etc.

Napier Museum

The Napier Museum

The Napier Museum is an art and natural history museum situated in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital city of Kerala, India.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 Features

History

The museum was established in 1855. In 1874, the old Museum Building was demolished and foundation for the new building was laid. The new building was named after Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras from 1866-1872.

Design

The architectural masterpiece was designed by Robert Chisholm, the consulting Architect of the Madras Government and the construction was completed in 1880. Napier Museum is a landmark in the city with its unique ornamentation and architectural style with gothic roof and minarets. The Indo-Saracenic structure also boasts a natural air conditioning system.

Features

The museum houses a rare collection of archaeological and historic artifacts, bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a temple chariot and ivory carvings. It also contains the Sri Chitra Art Gallery, which contains works from Raja Ravi Varma and Nicholas Roerich, as well as examples of Mughal and Tanjore art.
The Museum grounds also hold a Zoological garden, which is one of the oldest in India. This Zoo was established in 1857 and is spread over 55 acres (220,000 m²) of land.

Photos of Museum in Thiruvananthapuram

Museum

1. Napier Museum (Art Museum )

Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram.
One of the earliest Museums in India established by the Maharaja of Travancore in 1855. Only a very few Museums like the Indian Museum Calcutta, Madras Government Museum are its contemporaries. In 1874, the old Museum Building was pulled down and the foundation for the new building named after Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras presidency, was laid. The Architectural masterpiece was designed by Mr. Chisoln, the consulting Architect of the Madras Government and the construction completed in 1880. This 120 year old structure is a landmark in the city with its unique ornamentation and architectural style with gothic roof and minerets.

It offers an array of display of artistic, cultural and antique importance comprising of sculptures in bronze and stone, carving of wood and ivory, lamps, textiles, Kathakali models, handicraft items, Kuftgiri works, traditional musical instruments, a treasure of numismatic collections representing Chera, Chola, Pandy dynasties of Southern India etc.. The bronze display include fascinating images of Siva, Vishnu, Parvathi and Laskhmi in "Silpa Sastras". The metal images illustrate the features of South Indian sculpture style of 8th to 18th Century. The Vishnu image of 8th Century collected from Ambalapuzha temple in central Travancore which has Pallava style is the oldest metal image in the State. The stone sculptures belong to 8th to 18th Century such as Agasthya, Vishnu etc. manifest Dravidyan influence. Shiva with Sati is a unique and the rarest exhibit found in the Museum. Each and every exhibit has a wonderful and fascinating tale twined around it

ZOO

ZOO

Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, one of the oldest in the country, was established as an adjunct to the Museum in 1857 by the erstwhile Maharaja of Travancore in order to attract more visitors. The typical iron barred, cement floored, dingy animal cages built in the past still stand as monuments of the royal style and architectural supermacy rather than being proper housing for animals.

As these cages are outmoded with the changed concepts of Zoo management, they are being renovated/replaced by open moated, spacious, nearly natural enclosures in phased manner. This modernisation project being implemented since 1995-96 is expected to be over by March 2005. The modernisation of the Zoo is undertaken by the State Government with the financial and technical assistance of the Central Zoo Authority Government of India. It is estimated that about Rs. 700 lakhs would be spent for the project when it is completed.

Spread over in 55 acres of land located in the heart of the temple city of Thiruvananthapuram, the Zoo offers a rare opportunity for the visitors to experience and enjoy an unparalleled picturesque and panoramic sylvan surroundings besides vivid animal collections. The Zoo has 82 different species of animals from all over India and abroad. It has several species of animals and birds from Ethiopian and Australian Zoo geographic regions. The Lion tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Nilgiri Tahr, One Horned Great Indian Rhino, Asiatic Lion, Royal Bengal Tiger are prominent among the indigenous endangered fauna whereas, Giraffe, Hippo, Zebra, Cape Buffalo are the guests from African region. It will usher in a new era with the completion of the ongoing modernisation works in the Zoo. Thrilling encounters with the animals out in their open air landscapes are order of the day now.

People of Kerala