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36-639: The stupas were excavated by Alexander Caddy in 1896, and the many statues of the site sent to the Indian Museum of Calcutta . One of the statues of the Buddha from Loriyan Tangai has an inscription mentioning "the year 318". The era in question is not specified, but it is now thought, following the discovery of the Bajaur reliquary inscription , that it is about the Yavana era beginning in 174 BCE, and gives

72-548: A Danish botanist, who had been captured in the siege of Serampore but later released, wrote to the council of the Asiatic Society for the formation of a museum out of his own collection and that of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, volunteering his service as a Curator wherein he proposed five sections—an archaeological, ethnological, a technical section and a geological and zoological one. The council readily agreed and

108-481: A collection of rare and unpublished works belonging to or treating of Oriental literature and containing original text-editions as well as translations into English, and also grammars, dictionaries, bibliographies, and studies. The museum of the Society was founded in 1814 under the superintendence of Nathaniel Wallich . The rapid growth of its collection is evident from its first catalogue, published in 1849. By 1849,

144-601: A copy of the Lion Capital of Ashoka from an Ashoka pillar (original in the Sarnath Museum ) whose four-lion symbol became the official emblem of the Republic of India , fossil skeletons of prehistoric animals, an art collection, rare antiques, and a collection of meteorites. The Indian Museum is also regarded as "the beginning of a significant epoch initiating the socio-cultural and scientific achievements of

180-648: A date for the Buddha statue of about 143 CE. The inscription at the base of the statue is: This would make it one of the earliest known representations of the Buddha, after the Bimaran casket (1st century CE), and at about the same time as the Buddhist coins of Kanishka . The two devotees on the right side of the pedestal are in Indo-Scythian suit (loose trousers, tunic, and hood). Their characteristic trousers appear clearly on close-up pictures . The statue

216-607: A large number of books printed in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The library also possesses many rare and scarcely available books. The library has a rich collection of about 47,000 manuscripts in 26 scripts. The most notable amongst them are an illustrated manuscript of the Qur'an , a manuscript of the Gulistan text, and a manuscript of Padshah Nama bearing the signature of Emperor Shahjahan . The number of journals in

252-542: A meeting presided over by Justice Robert Chambers in Calcutta , the then-capital of the Presidency of Fort William . At the time of its foundation, this Society was named as " Asiatick Society ". In 1825, the society was renamed as "The Asiatic Society". In 1832 the name was changed to " The Asiatic Society of Bengal " and again in 1936 it was renamed as " The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal ". Finally, on 1 July 1951,

288-618: A rented building at 1, Hastings Road now K N Roy Road, the present site of the New Secretariat became its office. The geological collection of the Government of India 'Museum of Economic Geology' at the Asiatic Society, were then transferred to this site in 1856. The Asiatic Society geological collection were however held back with the condition that it would be handed over to the GSI once a Museum for all its collection came into being. It

324-589: A two-storeyed building at the site. This 15,071 ft² building was built at a cost of Rs. 30,000. The first quarterly meeting of the Society for 1808 was held at its new building on 3 February 1808. From 1784 to 1828, only Europeans were elected members of the Society. In 1829, at the initiative of H.H. Wilson , a number of Indians were elected members, which include Dwarakanath Tagore , Sivchandra Das, Maharaja Baidyanath Roy, Maharaja Bunwari Govind Roy, Raja Kalikrishna Bahadur, Rajchunder Das, Ram Comul Sen, and Prasanna Coomar Tagore. On 12 December 1832, Ram Comul Sen

360-625: A view to establish a society for the Asiatic studies. At his invitation, 30 British residents met in the Grand Jury Room of the Supreme Court (in Calcutta's Fort William ) on 15 January 1784. The meeting was presided over by Sir Robert Chambers. At this meeting, Jones explained the aims of the Society he would establish. The Memorandum of Articles of the Asiatic Society, prepared by Jones said: The bounds of investigations will be

396-639: Is a massive museum in Central Kolkata , West Bengal , India. It is the ninth oldest museum in the world and the oldest and largest museum in Asia, by size of collection . It has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies and Mughal paintings . It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata (Calcutta), India , in 1814. The founder curator

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432-595: Is being included as an Institute of national importance in the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India . Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of " Oriental research " (in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions ). It was founded by the philologist William Jones on 15 January 1784 in

468-593: Is now in Indian Museum of Calcutta . Another statue of Buddha, the Buddha of Hashtnagar, is inscribed from the year 384, which is thought to be 209 CE. Only the pedestal is preserved in the British Museum , the statue itself, with folds of clothing having more relief than those of the Loriyan Tangai Buddha, having disappeared. Indian Museum The Indian Museum (formerly called Imperial Museum of Calcutta before independence, )

504-487: The Asiatic Society ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 200 a month. However, in 1836, when the bankers of the Asiatic Society (Palmer and Company) became insolvent, the Government began to pay the salary of the Curator from its public funds since a large part of the collection was that of the surveyors of Survey of India. A temporary grant of Rs 200 per month was sanctioned for maintenance of the museum and library, and J. T. Pearson of

540-557: The Bengal Medical Service was appointed curator, followed shortly by John McClelland and, after the former's resignation, by Edward Blyth . In 1840, the Government took a keen interest in geology and mineral resources, and this led to an additional grant of Rs 250 per month for the geological section alone. In 1851 when the Geological Survey of India came into being with the advent of Sir Thomas Oldham,

576-528: The Board of Trustees under its Directorate, and that of the three other science sections is with the geological survey of India, the zoological survey of India and the Botanical survey of India. The museum Directorate has eight co-ordinating service units: Education, preservation, publication, presentation, photography, medical, modelling and library. This multipurpose institution with multidisciplinary activities

612-595: The Museum was created, with Wallich named the Honorary Curator and then Superintendent of the Oriental Museum of the Asiatic Society . Wallich also donated a number of botanical specimens to the museum from his personal collection. In 1815, Mr William Lloyd Gibbons, Asst Secretary and Librarian, was appointed Joint Secretary of the Museum. After the resignation of Wallich, curators were paid salaries by

648-471: The Society decided to have its own building. J.H. Harrington, then vice-president, selected the corner of Park Street and Chowringhee Road (present location) for the Society's house. The site was granted to the Society on 15 May 1805. The original plan for the new building was prepared by Captain Thomas Preston . The French architect Jean-Jacques Pichou made certain modifications to it and constructed

684-665: The Society had its own museum consisting of inscriptions in stone and metal, icons, old coins, and Sanskrit manuscripts etc. When the Indian Museum of Calcutta was established in 1814, the Society handed over most of its valuable collections to it. The Society, however, still has a museum of its own which possesses a rock edict of Asoka (c. 250 BCE) and a significant collection of copper plate inscriptions, coins, sculptures, manuscripts, and archival records. Some masterpieces, like Joshua Reynolds ’ Cupid asleep on Cloud , Guido Cagnacci 's Cleopatra , Thomas Daniell 's A Ghat at Benares, and Peter Paul Rubens ’ Infant Christ are also in

720-619: The art and archaeology sections hold collections of international importance. It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture , Government of India . The present Director of the Indian Museum is Shri Arijit Dutta Choudhury who is also the Director General, NCSM and having the additional charge of Director General of National Library . The Indian Museum originated from the Asiatic Society of Bengal which

756-602: The complete railings and gateways of the Buddhist stupa from Bharhut (the bare stupa is still at Bharhut, near Satna , MP). The Bharhut panels are unique in that they are inscribed in the Brahmi script . The museum has a collection of the remains of the slightly later Amaravati Stupa . There is a large and representative collection of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures of the medieval period, especially those from Bengal, Bihar , and Odisha . Also preserved are Buddha 's relics,

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792-465: The country. It is otherwise considered as the beginning of the modernity and the end of medieval era". The museum has four galleries dedicated to natural history, namely the botanical, insect, mammal and bird galleries. It also contains prehistoric artifacts such as the huge skeleton of a dinosaur . Administrative control of the Cultural sections, viz. Art, Archaeology and Anthropology rests with

828-725: The first Library-in-Charge (1804) donated his small but valuable collection of works on art. The first accession of importance was a gift from the Seringapatam Committee on 3 February 1808 consisting of a collection from the Palace Library of Tipu Sultan . The library received the Surveyor-General Colonel Mackenzie's collection of manuscripts and drawings in December 1822. Since 1849, the Society has printed Bibliotheca Indica ,

864-521: The geographical limits of Asia, and within these limits its enquiries will be extended to whatever is performed by man or produced by nature. Notable early members were Charles Wilkins and Alexander Hamilton (the cousin of the American statesman). Initially, the Grand Jury Room of the Supreme Court was used for the meetings of the members, who had to pay a quarterly fee of two mohurs . The members were elected through ballot-voting. On 29 September 1796,

900-459: The mammal and archaeology collections. The English zoologist James Wood-Mason worked at the museum from 1869 and succeeded Anderson as curator in 1887. The museum was closed to visitors for restoration and upgrades from September 2013 to February 2014. It currently occupies a resplendent mansion, and exhibits among others: an Egyptian mummy. The mummy is being restored. The large collection of ancient and medieval Indian artifacts include

936-553: The name of the society was changed to its present one. The Society is housed in a building at Park Street in Kolkata (Calcutta). The Society moved into this building during 1808. In 1823, the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta was formed and all the meetings of this society were held in the Asiatic Society. In January 1784, Sir William Jones sent out a circular-letter to a selected number of British residents of Calcutta with

972-583: The offices of both. The Asiatic Society however relinquished its rights preferring to maintain its autonomy from the government. The Geological Survey of India is till date headquartered at the buildings of the Indian Museum Complex and holds exclusive rights over the Geological galleries of the Indian Museum. The building parallel to Sudder Street commenced in 1888 and occupied in 1891. The next building block at right angle to Sudder Street

1008-451: The possession of the library is about 80,000 at present.The library also has coins issued by Chhatrapati Shivaji Mahraj. The early collection of this library was enriched by the contributions it received from its members. On 25 March 1784, the library received seven Persian manuscripts from Henri Richardson. The next contribution came from William Marsden , who donated his book The History of Sumatra (1783) on 10 November 1784. Robert Home,

1044-462: The society. At present , the library of the Asiatic Society has a collection of about 117,000 books and 79,000 journals printed in almost all the major languages of the world. It has also a collection of 293 maps, microfiche of 48,000 works, microfilm of 387,003 pages, 182 paintings, 2500 pamphlets, and 2150 photographs. The earliest printed book preserved in this library is Juli Firmici's Astronomicorum Libri published in 1499. It has in its possession

1080-418: Was Nathaniel Wallich , a Danish botanist. It has six sections comprising thirty five galleries of cultural and scientific artifacts namely Indian art , archaeology , anthropology , geology , zoology and economic botany . Many rare and unique specimens, both Indian and trans-Indian, relating to humanities and natural sciences, are preserved and displayed in the galleries of these sections. In particular

1116-542: Was completed. In 1877 after the retirement of Sir Thomas Oldham in 1876 the Geological Survey of India including the Museum of Economic Geology shifted here from its rented accommodation on 1 Hastings Road. This building had been designated as the site for not just the Asiatic Societies, Oriental Museum's collection and the Economic Geology collection of the Geological Survey of India but also to hold

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1152-505: Was created by Sir William Jones in 1784. The concept of having a museum arose in 1796 from members of the Asiatic Society as a place where man-made and natural objects collected could be kept, cared for and displayed. The objective began to look achievable in 1808 when the Society was offered suitable accommodation by the Government of India in the Chowringhee-Park Street area. On 2 February 1814, Nathaniel Wallich ,

1188-416: Was elected 'Native Secretary'. Later, Rajendralal Mitra became the first Indian President in 1885. Both the orientalist Brajendranath De , and one of his grandsons, the historian Barun De , were for some time vice-president of the Asiatic Society. One of the main activities of the Asiatic Society was to collect the old manuscripts of India. There was an enormous collection of Sanskrit manuscripts with

1224-577: Was erected in 1894. Half of this building was consigned to the Geological Survey of India but by 1912 it was wholly transferred to it. The Zoological and Anthropological sections of the museum gave rise to the Zoological Survey of India in 1916, which in turn gave rise to the Anthropological Survey of India in 1945. The Scottish anatomist and zoologist John Anderson took up the position of curator in 1865, and catalogued

1260-673: Was held up due to the intervention of the revolt of the sepoys of the East India Company. The matter was pursued again, once things settled down after India came under the Crown. Thereafter the First Indian Museum Act was passed in 1866 and the foundation of the Indian Museum at its present site laid in 1867. In 1875 the present building on Chowringee Road, presently Jawaharlal Nehru Road, designed by W L Granville in consultation with Sir Thomas Holland, on Chowringee

1296-401: Was way back in 1837 that Sir James Princeps, then-Secretary of the Asiatic Society, had written to the Government asking for a Museum paid for by the state. A movement for a full-fledged Museum was thereafter keenly pursued over a decade, and later, with Sir Thomas Oldham, then Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, at the helm, it gained momentum. The thrust for a full-fledged Museum

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