Friday, April 11, 2014

HISTORY OF PRINCE OF WALES MUSEUM Bombay/mumbai

CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ VASTU SANGRAHALAY

‘The Museum of Western India composition.
The real reason why it is so, is because it was instructed that the design should be indian in character…’ – George Wittet

Founded in the early 1900s, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya is one of the foremost cultural institutions in the country. On the 14th of August 1905, a number of prominent citizens of Bombay gathered at the Town Hall. They resolved to erect a Memorial to the visit of the Prince of Wales (later King George V) in the form of a public museum. The meeting was attended by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Justice Badrudin Tyabji, Narotamdas Gokuldas, Justice Chandavarkar, Sassoon J. David and many other dignitaries who were known for their outstanding contribution in their respective fields ,and also in the development of the island of Bombay. The Foundation Stone of the Museum was laid by the Prince of Wales on the 11th of November, 1905 and the Museum was named Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. The Museum was a culmination of the desire of Mumbai’s public for the construction of a Museum that could represent their cultural heritage. Consequently, the institution was established through public contribution aided by the then Government of the Bombay Presidency.

This memorial in the form of a museum was to be erected on a plot of land known as the ‘Crescent Site’ on the southern tip of the island. The building was completed in 1914, but opened its doors to the public much later on the 10th of January, 1922. Until then it was used by the military as a hospital and for Children’s Welfare Exhibitions.

Many things have changed since then. Bombay is now known as Mumbai and the name of the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India is changed to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. Set against a well laid out garden which retains its original plan till this date, the museum is an important Heritage building of the city.

Architecture

Chinese and Japanese Art Gallery in 1928

It is a Grade I Heritage Building of the city and is set in a well laid out garden which retains its original plan. It has been awarded first place for Heritage Building Maintenance by the Indian Heritage Society.

The architect of the building, George Wittet, was selected after an open competition in 1909. Wittet is known for the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture of which this museum is one of the best examples. The Indo-Saracenic style combines Hindu and Saracenic architectural forms, at times incorporating some elements of Western architecture. The Indian pillared hall, the arched pavilion, the dome rising above the huge intersecting arches forming a beautiful geometrical pattern-all these together make the Museum building a typical example of the Indo-Saracenic style. Small jalis for light and wind add to the grandeur of the building. George Wittet skilfully incorporated the original wooden arched pavilion purchased from a royal house (wada) at Nasik in Maharashtra, as a circular railing on the first floor of the building. The dome of this building is designed after the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur and the finial is copied from the Taj at Agra.

Today, CSMVS houses approx. 70,000 artefacts and has an outstanding collection comprising sculptures, terracottas, bronzes, excavated artefacts from Indus Valley sites, Indian miniature paintings, Indian decorative arts, European paintings and decorative arts, porcelain and ivories from China and Japan, etc. Besides these, the Museum has separate sections of Numismatics and Natural HistoryMilestones

August 14,1904

The need for having a public museum in Bombay (now Mumbai) was recognised by some of its eminent citizens and proposed to the Government of Bombay Presidency. A resolution was passed and the first Museum Committee was appointed by the Government.

November 11, 1905

The foundation stone of the Museum building was laid by HRH the Prince of Wales, and the Museum was named as the ‘Prince of Wales Museum of Western India’.

1909

The Board of Trustees which represents major stakeholders of culture in the city, was constituted through an Act to oversee the running of the Museum.

1909

George Wittet, a Scottish architect, was selected through an open competition to design the Museum building.

1914

Construction of the magnificent building, which is an excellent example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, was completed. This architectural style encompasses elements from Hindu, Islamic and Western architecture.

1914

During World War I, the Museum building was used as a military hospital and named Lady Hardinge War Hospital. The building was once again used as a major hospital during the influenza pandemic in 1918-1920.

1920

The building was handed over to the Trustees of the Museum. They continued collecting objects of art and archaeology through generous gifts and purchases.

January 10, 1922

The Museum was formally opened to the public.

October 28, 1933

The foundation stone for the Extension Wing was laid, and it was opened to the public in 1938.

1942 to 1946

The Museum’s building (heritage wing) was given to Red Cross Society during World War II on the request of the Government.

In the following decades, the Museum has flourished as a leading cultural institution owing to its dynamic approach.

1990

The Museum was declared Grade I Heritage Building, acknowledging it as the heritage of national importance.

2001

The Museum was renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS).

2010

The Museum received the UNESCO-Asia Pacific award for Commendable Conservation of the Building.

October 10, 2015

Museum on Wheels project was launched.

2018

The Museum has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site, part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble in Mumbai.

March 19, 2019

The city’s first Children’s Museum was opened to the public.

January 2020

Museum on Wheels Bus 2 was launched.

January 10, 2022

The Museum completed 100 years of its glorious journey.

Prince of Wales Museum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Wales_Museum
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, is the main museum in Mumbai, formerly Bombay.



  • Prince of Wales Museum



  • The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, is the main museum in Mumbai, formerly Bombay. Wikipedia







  • Address: 159-161, Mahatma Gandhi Rd, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400023



  • Hours:
    Open today · 10:15 am – 6:00 pm



  • Phone: 022 2284 4519

  • ----------------------
     

    ---------------------------------
     [museum.JPG]



    The museum building was completed in 1915, but was used as a Children's Welfare Centre and a Military Hospital during the First World War, before being handed over to the committee in 1920. The Prince of Wales Museum was inaugurated on January 10, 1922, by Lady Lloyd, the wife of George Lloyd, Governor of Bombay






    Lady Hardinge Red Cross Hospital Bombay.1915
    Crown, but it is one which is unusually iraught with danger and arduous duties. Ihe position, however, offers golden opportunities for helping forward the movements for the education and uplifting of the women and girls of India. Happily, the days are
    LORD AND LADY HARDINGE  

    British women have played an important part in the history of our Government in India.
     The wives of the Governors-general and Viceroys of India have, like those of lesser degree, faced danger and hardships, and have discharged the duties of their position with courage and a high sense of duty-some, indeed, have given their lives for India.

      lady of quality late Coronation festivities made special demands upon the Viceregal Court.
    To be the Vicereine of India is at once the most regal, brilliant, and picturesque position held by any woman under the past when the wife of India's ruler dare not give shelter to the child-wife pleading to escape from death on her husband's funeral pyre. Suttee has been abolished and great advances made in the position of our sisters in India. The manner in which successive Vicereines have striven to further reforms is illustrated by the Countess of Dufferin Fund, the Victoria Memorial Scholarship Fund, founded by the late Lady Curzon for the training of native midwives, and the
    Lady Minto Nursing Association. Lady Hardinge of Penshurst, who succeeds Lady Minto as Vicereine, in formulating a scheme for promoting the training of native women as doctors.

    Native bullock wagons making for Victoria Dock, Bombay.

    This view was taken from the Bombay Post Office steps.  Notice the swarms of pigeons, the natives feed & worship them.


    Municipal offices, Bombay.1915[can see the kerosene street light on the road]

    Bombay

    [museum.jpg]

    Lady Hardings war hospital, Bombay, India 1915

    was originally the Lady Hardinge Hospital, built in 1915 as a general hospital for the Lahore and Meerut Indian divisions. It was constructed in the shape of a capital E, like the large country houses of the Elizabethan period. The perpendicular line contained the headquarters and administrative quarters; the two horizontal lines were corridors, each with its series of wards and side rooms. The small central horizontal line was a corridor leading to an operating theatre and to a large double cookhouse, as the sick and wounded Indian troops belonged to two religions, Hindu and Moslem, each requiring different diets...."



    The museum building was completed in 1915, but was used as a Children's Welfare Centre and a Military Hospital during the First World War, before being handed over to the committee in 1920. The Prince of Wales Museum was inaugurated on January 10, 1922, by Lady Lloyd, the wife of George Lloyd, Governor of Bombay.
    The Right Honourable
    The Lord Lloyd
    GCSI GCIE PC DSO
    Lord Lloyd.JPG
    Governor of Bombay
    In office
    16 December 1918 – 8 December 1923
    Monarch George V
    Preceded by Marquess of Willingdon
    Succeeded by Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
    High Commissioner in Egypt
    In office
    1925–1929
    Monarch George V
    Preceded by The Viscount Allenby
    Succeeded by Sir Percy Loraine, Bt
    Secretary of State for the Colonies
    In office
    12 May 1940 – 4 February 1941
    Monarch George VI
    Prime Minister Winston Churchill
    Preceded by Malcolm MacDonald
    Succeeded by The Lord Moyne
    Leader of the House of Lords
    In office
    December 1940 – 4 February 1941
    Monarch George VI
    Prime Minister Winston Churchill
    Preceded by The Viscount Halifax
    Succeeded by The Lord Moyne
    Personal details
    Born 19 September 1879
    Olton Hall[1]
    Died 4 February 1941 (aged 61)
    Nationality British
    Political party Conservative
    Spouse(s) Hon. Blanche Lascelles
    (1880–1969)
    Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge
    The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales on the 11 November 1905 and the museum was formally named "Prince of Wales Museum of Western India".[2] On 1 March 1907, the government of the Bombay Presidency granted the museum committee a piece of land called the "Crescent Site", where the museum now stands. Following an open design competition, in 1909 the architect George Wittet was commissioned to design the Museum building

    George Wittet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wittet
    George Wittet (1878-1926) was a Scottish architect who worked mostly in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Life[edit]. George Wittet was born in Blair Atholl, .
  • George Wittet
    Architect
  • George Wittet was a Scottish architect who worked mostly in Bombay, India. Wikipedia

  • Died: 1926