Museums & Art Galleries: Bihar
State
Museum, Patna
The State Museum, established in 1917, has an
excellent collection of stone and terracotta sculpture especially from the
Mauryan period. The most outstanding piece is of course the Didarganj yakshi.
A larger than life voluptuous female figure carved from the yellowish
sandstone from Chunar, Bihar, the glossy sheen of the surface is a
characteristic feature of the Mauryan school.
The terracotta
collection includes excavated antiquities from Pataliputra, Kosambhi, Gaya
and other important Mauryan and Gupta sites. On view are toys, icons and
mother goddess figures. The bronzes on view include early Buddhist
figures, a standing Buddha and bodhisattvas.
State
Museum Budh Road,
Patna
Timing: 10.30 am to 4.30 pm
Closed
on Mondays and government holidays.
Gaya Museum, Gaya
Gaya, 206 km from Patna is an ancient Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage
site. It is believed that Vishnu's sacred footprint is preserved in the
Vishnupad temple.
The museum was established in 1952 to house
the many antiquities discovered in this historic land. On view are ancient
sculpture, bronzes and terracotta. There is a section on numismatics, the
decorative arts, paintings, manuscripts, arms and armoury, geology and
natural history. The children's section includes a dolls' house.
Gaya
Museum
Gaya 823 001
Timing: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm
Closed on
Mondays and some government holidays.
Archaeological
Museum, Nalanda
Ninety kilometres south of Patna lies
Nalanda, the historic Buddhist university. It is believed that the Buddha
preached here and the Mauryan emperor Ashoka built the famous monastery.
The excavated ruins are spectacular, with chapels, monasteries and lecture
halls symmetrically spread over a large area.
The museum,
established in 1915, exhibits archaeological discoveries like sculpture,
terracotta, bronzes as well as architectural friezes, panels, pillars and
other fragments. The antiquities on view portray the spiritual and
meditative principles of Buddhism, especially as it must have existed at
Nalanda.
Archaeological Museum
Nalanda Timing: 9.00 am to
5.00 pm
Open on all days.
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