The Central Museum: Albert Hall

Albert hall museum in Evening

A town hall turned into “Albert Hall Museum” is a well-built piece of art situated at the heart of Jaipur. With a view of Rajasthani culture, from beautiful architecture to representation of ancient civilization, this museum has a lot to offer. Albert Hall Museum is a 133 years old architecture and is situated in Ram Niwas Bagh.

History

The foundation stone of the beautiful Albert Hall was laid during the visit of the Prince of Wales, to Jaipur in 1876 while the construction of the museum completed in 1887 by the architect and director of Jaipur PWD – Samuel Swinton. The museum is named in honour of Prince Albert of Britain (Queen Victoria’s husband) 

The architecture of the building is made in Indo- Saracenic form of architecture which now inspires many varied classical Indian styles of design.

The museum has a rich collection of artifacts including paintings, jewellery, carpets, ivory, stone, metal sculptures, and works in crystal.

The collection includes coins from the Gupta, Kushan, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British periods.

There are 15 main galleries inside the museum:-

Metal Art:  This part of the Gallery Contains Items made from Brass, Zinc and bronze, designer plates, collectibles, and beautifully carved vessels.

Pottery:  You will find the pottery artwork related to the 19th century in this part. Pattan Red and Black Ware, Indargarh Lacquer Ware, Chillums, Bikaner Gold Lacquer on Pottery, and Bengal Carved Pottery in this room.

Jewellery:  This sections displays the ornaments worn by the 19th-century peasant men and women of Rajasthan are displayed here. It includes different types of pins, necklaces, anklet, earrings, etc. 

Garments & Textiles: This section is consists of Bandhani (Tye& Dye), Angrakha, Brocade & Mushru, Block prints, Wooden blocks, Pagari, and many more costumes of the 19th century.

Arms & Armour:  This part shows the violent side of Rajput, Mughal, Hyderabadi, and Afghani, Iranian empires. There are some armors like knives, daggers, gauntlet, Tiger claws (BaghNakha), Gun powder horn, etc.

Miniature Paintings: Krishna Avtar Charitra, Panchatantra, Rasik Priya, Bhagavata Gita, Geet Govind, etc. are the top attractions of the painting section.

Musical Instruments:  The music instruments like Shehnai, Bankia, Ravan Hatha, Pungi, Dhap, etc. shows the interest in the music of Rajasthani peasants.

Clay Art: Beautiful clay figures of Yogi Asans (Postures), Radha Govind, etc. tell us about the importance of Yog in life.

Sculptures:  This gallery presents God’s idols of various denominations. There is a huge variety of style from 4th to 21st century.

Marble Art:  This one has some masterpieces of marble finely made by artisans of Rajasthan.

Furniture & Wooden Art:  Various qualities of wooden furniture and arts are offered here.

Carpet:  One of the top charms here is The Persian Garden Carpet. It was made on the theme of “Char-Bagh”.

International Art:  This Museum also offers international items from different nations. From Japanese dolls to Nepalese Buddha; you will find a class of products here.

Ivory:  The items made of elephant tusks are called Ivory. You will find different collectibles and statues made of Ivory here.

Coins:  This section holds coins of different centuries and dynasties.

Contact & visit

Both single & composite tickets are available to visit it. You can also book online tickets at the Albert Hall Museum website- http://alberthalljaipur.gov.in/.

Visit Timings: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Visit Duration: 1 Hour

Ticket Price: 20 to 300 INR

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