Product Code Database
The Lahore Museum (; ; ) is a museum located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on The Mall in Lahore during the British Raj, Lahore Museum is Pakistan's largest museum, as well as one of its most visited ones.
The museum houses an extensive collection of Buddhist art from the ancient Indo-Greek and Gandhara kingdoms. It also has collections from the Indus Valley Civilisation, Mughal Empire, Sikh Empire and the British Raj.
The Lahore Museum, along with the Zamzama located directly in front of the building, is the setting of the opening scene in the novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling, whose father, John Lockwood Kipling, was one of the museum's earliest curators.
The museum's collection was shifted in 1894 to its present location on The Mall, in Lahore's British-era core. The present building was designed by Bhai Ram Singh and John Lockwood Kipling.
Rudyard Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, was one of the museum's first curators, and was succeeded by K. N. Sitaram.
In 1948, as part of the partition of Punjab, the artefacts of the museum were divided between the newly formed countries of Pakistan and India, with the museum retaining about 60% of its collection. The rest was given to India and eventually housed at the Government Museum and Art Gallery in Chandigarh, built specifically for this purpose.
The museum's golden years are considered to be from 1970 to 1990, when scholar, archaeologist, and Museology Dr Saif-ur-Rehman Dar served as its director. He wrote several books about the museum, and his tenure was complemented by that of B.A. Qureshi, who was the chairman of the museum's board of governors back then.
Over 250,000 visitors were registered at the Lahore Museum in 2005. This dropped to 236,536 in 2016, 214,697 in 2017, but rose to 227,994 in 2018. It was the most popular museum of Pakistan among foreigners in 2016 (2,956 visits) and 2017 (2,941 visits). It dropped to second place (with 3,659 foreign visitors) in 2018, having been replaced by Taxila Museum.
The museum also contains fine specimens of Mughal and Sikh carved woodwork and has a large collection of paintings dating back to the British period. The collection also includes musical instruments, ancient jewelry, textiles, pottery, and armory, as well as some and work on display.
Julius Bryant (2025). 9780300221596, Published by Bard graduate center gallery Yale University press. ISBN 9780300221596
Scope
The museum displays archaeological materials from Bronze Age (Indus Valley Civilisation) to the medieval era Hindu Shahis and Mughal period. It has one of the largest collections of archaeology, history, arts, fine arts, applied arts, ethnology, and craft objects in Pakistan. It also has an extensive collection of Hellenistic and Mughal coins. There is also a photo gallery dedicated to the emergence of Pakistan as an independent state, the Pakistan Movement Gallery.
Collections
The museum has a number of Greco-Buddhist sculptures, Mughal painting and on display. Over 58,000 artifacts are reported to be part of its collection, with only 14,000 being on display. The collection contains important relics from the Indus Valley civilization, Gandhara, and Graeco-Bactrian periods as well. The Fasting Buddha, dating from the Gandhara period, is one of the museums most prized and celebrated objects.
The Evolution of Mankind
The ceiling of the entrance hall features The Evolution of Mankind, a large mural consisting of 48 panels (each measuring 6 by 8 feet). It was painted by Pakistani artist Sadequain who originally completed it in 1973. Due to the weather conditions and termite attacks, the mural suffered significant damage over the years, A grant was approved by the Governor of Punjab in 2008 to start the restoration work. It was taken down in 2010, while restoration work began in 2012. By 2018, 16 of the panels had been restored by Uzma Usmani and Mumtaz Hussain.
Directors
The following is a list of the museum's directors.
1 John Lockwood Kipling (C.I.E) Curator 1875–1893 18 2 Fred Henry Andrews Curator 1893–1899 6 3 Percy Brown Curator 1899–1912 13 4 Hugh Lionel Heath Curator 1912–1929 7 5 Rai Bahadur Curator 1929–1942 13 6 Molvi Zarar Hasan Curator 1942–1947 5 7 Malik Shams Curator 1947–1965 18 8 Syed Muhammad Taqi Curator/Director 1965–1974 9 9 Dr. Saifur Rehman Dar Director 1974–1993 19 10 Dr. F.M. Anjum Rehmani Officiating Director 1993–1995 2 11 Dr Saif-ur-Rehman Dar, Director 1995–1998 3 12 Dr. F.M. Anjum Rehmani Officiating Director 1998–2001 3 13 Mansoor Sohail Director (Additional charge) 2000–2001 1 14 Dr. Liaquat Ali Khan Niazi Director 2001–2004 3 15 Syed Gulzar Mashhadi Director 2004–2005 1 16 Naheed Rizvi Director 2005–2008 3 17 Asghar Nadeem Syed Director 2008–2009 1 18 Dr. Kamran Afzal Cheema Director 2009–2009 <1 19 Muhammad Siddique Sheikh Director 2009–2010 1 20 Salman Ijaz Director 2010–2010 <1 21 Humera Alam Director 2010–2012 2 22 Sumaira Samad Director 2012–2016 4 23 Syed Tahir Raza Hamdani Director (Additional charge) 2016–2016 <1 24 Humayun Mazhar Sheikh Director 2016–2018 2 25 Saman Rai Director (Additional charge) 2018–2019 1 26 Nasir Jamal Hotiana Director 2019–2019 <1 27 Tariq Mahmood Javaid Director 2019–2020 1 28 Ijaz Ahmed Minhas Director 2010–present 2*
Book
The book Masterpieces of Lahore Museum, written by Anjum Rehmani, was published by the museum in 1999 with financial assistance from UNESCO. A new edition was published in 2006.
In popular culture
Further reading
See also
External links
Categories: Museums In Punjab, Pakistan, Decorative Arts Museums, Buildings And Structures In Lahore, Culture In Lahore, Tourist Attractions In Lahore, Museums Established In 1865, 1865 Establishments In British India, British Colonial Architecture In Pakistan, British Colonial Architecture In India, The Mall, Lahore, Golden Jubilee Of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert Victor, Duke Of Clarence And Avondale
|
|
