Jaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. The Pink City of Jaipur is known for its vibrant culture. While Jaipur’s famous tourist attractions like the Amer Fort and Hawa Mahal are very famous, most tourists don’t know about the Albert Hall Museum. The 135-year-old museum is located in Ram Niwas Garden and is less than a 10-minute walk from the Hawa Mahal.
The Albert Hall Museum is named after King Edward VII aka Albert Edward. It was during his visit to India in 1876 that the foundation stone of the building was laid.
If you love carefully curated old things, then you should visit the Albert Hall Museum. History lovers will like the sombre collection of artefacts here. One of the oldest museums in the country, the Albert Hall Museum perfectly encapsulates the rich heritage of Jaipur.
Albert Hall Museum was opened to the public as a museum in 1887 and boasts remarkable architecture.
The museum’s grand architecture is very pleasing to the eyes as it is built in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The museum was designed by Samuel Swinton Jacob, under the rule of Maharaja Ram Singh, who wanted the structure to be used as a town hall. However, Madho Singh II turned it into a museum to preserve invaluable art.
Now the historic museum holds some of the best works of art which includes paintings, artefacts, jewellery, carpets, and sculptures of metal, stone and ivory.
The museum also houses coins that date back to the time of the Guptas, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and the British. Numismatics enthusiasts will find the collection of coins at Albert Hall Museum very fascinating.
Interestingly, the Albert Hall Museum is one of the six places in India where you can see an Egyptian mummy. The museum houses a 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummy which was first brought to India in 1883. The mummy was gifted to Sawai Ishwar Singh, the ruler of Jaipur at the time, by the curator of the Museum of Cairo.
The other five places you can view an Egyptian mummy include the Indian Museum in Kolkata, YS Rajasekhara Reddy State Museum in Hyderabad, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya, Mumbai, State Museum, Lucknow, and Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, Vadodara.
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