The History and Origin of Kashmir Museum

The History and Origin of the Shri Pratap Singh Museum 

General Raja Sir Amar Singh the youger brother of Maharaja Pratap Singh and S H Godmerry a European Scholar proposed the establishment of the Shri Pratap Singh Museum in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus it was set up in the year 1898 AD, according to a memorandum was submitted to the Dogra Ruler of the state. The museum was set up in building which belonged to the state at Lal Mandi, in Srinagar on the bank of the River Jhelum. The museum would exhibits and artifacts covering the region of Jammu, Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan. There are many other Pilgrimage and heritage locations around kashmir. More about vaishnodevi Temple,  Thus the establishment of the museum was supervised by John Marshal the then Director General of the Archeological Survey of India. Mr. Blerjee the then Accountant General of the State served the first head of the institution. He was also responsible in order to prepare a catalog of the array of coins displayed in the museum.  The museum collection at the very first stage comprised of shawls and weapon store that were get hold from the Tosh Khana. Well after the redeployment of the new Archaeological Department in 1913 under Rai Bhadur Daya Ram Sahni, artifacts unearthed at Panderenthan, Parihaspora and Avantipura were first displayed in the museum. The rich flavors formed one of the prime and significant additions to the museum’s collection. Secondly, number of objects mostly ornamented household items, were acquired by the Museum from numerous private owners. The array of artifacts has been tentatively dated on the basis of style, material and period in this museum.
Thus the collections of the museum fall under the following categories

• Miniature Paintings
• Numismatics and Manuscripts
• Furniture and Decorative Items
• Weapons and Utensils
• History, Stuffed Birds and Animals
• Items of Leather, Grass and Willow Work
• Textiles and Carpets
• Sculptures, Tiles and Other Artifacts Excavated in Various Parts of Kashmir Natural.

Kashmir Archaeological Artifacts in Shri Pratap Museum Shri Pratap Museum and its collections in Kashmir have been home from four major archeological sites of Jammu, Kashmir and the Ladakh region. Pandrenthan Sculptures Srinagar the name of this city Srinagari dates back to reign of Ashoka, who is said to have built a capital of his name in Kashmir around 250 BC. The city was built at the site of modern village of Pandrenthan and in ancient time was known as Puranadisthan. You can explore numerous fascinating sculptures excavated at Pandrenthan which offers everyone the vivid idea of the quality of the Kashmir artists work. Ushkar Sculptures Ushkar is a modern village near Baramulla reflects the ancient town of Huvishkapura which was built by the Kushan King Huvishka in the 2^nd century AD. The terracotta fragments excavated at Ushkar exhibits a phenomenal resemblance to later Gandhara art as exemplified by the sculptures of the Mathura School. Avantipura Sculptures Avantipura town was established by the king Avantivarman during the period of 855 to 883 AD. Numerous temples were built by the King during this region whose ruins remained as one of the most breathtaking monuments of the ancient Kashmiri architecture. Numbers of sculptures have been bought up from one of numerous temples.    Parihasapura Sculptures Parihasapura is the capital city which is founded by the great King, lalitaditya in the first half the 8 century AD. The Buddhist buildings have been excavated so far which includes a stuppa, a monastery and Chaitya. The fragments of the sculptures were also been discovered in the debris surrounding the present enclosure. Buddhist Antiquities from Ladakh The collection mainly consists of unbaked and clay cast Buddhist Seals. They were calm by Dr. A.H. Francke of the Moravian Mission for the Archaeological Survey of India. They cover broiled and corrective adobe tablets with assorted types of abstracts of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Manjusri, Vajrapani, Tara and amount of other deities. In the majority of cases, the age of the seals and as well their canon can by acquired from these figures. Kashmir Manuscripts  The Manuscript area of SPS building contains an advanced ambit of objects including books, aristocratic edicts (farmans), performance etc, dating from the seventeen centuries old Gilgit Manuscripts to Persian, Kashmiri and Arabic works written as backward as 19th century. These handwritten manuscripts are on a host of autograph abstracts alignment from the case of the besom timberline (bhoj patra or burza) to fine, Kashmiri hand fabricated paper, accepted in bounded chat as koshur kaghaz. The rulers of Kashmir were accepted from the ancient time as getting gathering of literature. As such assorted works acclaimed throughout the Indian subcontinent ambidextrous with religion, philosophy, history etc were composed in the land. Amongst others these cover Nilmath Purana, Virath Katha, and the chronicles of Kashmir; Rajtrangani. These early manuscripts including to what is referred as Gilgit manuscript, belong to the pre-Islamic era of Kashmir. Mostly in Sharda or Sanskrit (occasionally in Pali script) these works accept been accounting on besom bark, the alone available, abiding autograph actual in Kashmir at that time. This actuality gives acceptance to the frequently captivated acceptance that the use of cardboard in the basin was alien during the Sultanate era in the 14th Century AD by Sultan Zain-ul Abideen, who send two native to Samarkand for this purpose. These aboriginal manuscripts acclimated to comprise abstracted or apart pages, mostly with the autograph on an individual leaf. The assorted pages absolute a individual album were captivated calm by agency of board clogs or belted calm with bands of black silk, abundant in the aforementioned address as that still accomplished in the assorted Buddhist apostolic libraries of Ladakh. This was due to the religious acuteness that around forbade the use beastly adumbrate (leather cover) for bounden the holy texts. Due to the lively apparent of the birch, the folios dating back to this period display a arresting bawdiness of the apparent and the coarse, diminutive anatomy of the case mars the all-embracing actualization of the texts authoritative accomplished calligraphy around impossible. Thus the use of a love other besom can be acutely discerned in all actual texts accounting on besom bark. The analysis of the Gilgit arrangement with its miniature paintings has helped in establishing the actuality that the holy of book adornment was accustomed in Kashmir even before the appearance of Islam. In actuality admitting the paintings in the Gilgit arrangement are assigned to the Kashmir academy of painting in faddy during the 9th aeon but stylistically, they may date aback to the 7th-8th century. These paintings characterize an all-embracing appearance assuming influences that can be traced to Gupta Indian, Gandhara, Central Asian and Iran.Down the ages this attitude of arrangement autograph was added avant-garde during the Muslim rule, if abundant Arabic and Persian works were either composed or affected for the use of the cardinal aristocratic. Additionally a host of aristocratic libraries accustomed by altered Sultans from 15th aeon onwards, ensured the charge for bearing copies of books that were advised to be an capital allotment of the affable worlds. Numerous medieval historians accept accounting about these aristocratic libraries which independent thousand of duke accounting manuscripts. These cover books on adoration and canon including Koran, plan of civil attributes like Shah Nameh, Dewan-i-Hafiz, Golistan, Boostan , philosophical, accurate and arcane works as able-bodied as assorted histories ambidextrous not alone with Kashmir but aswell the added Muslim world. A apparent about-face during this aeon was the actualization of an burghal common class, with associates committed to the advocacy of the literature.  Men-Tsee-khang Museum the most Cultural and Religious in Leh Dalai Lama and his holiness strongly felt that as we were in exile, thus we should render innumerous help in religious and cultural manner to the Himalayan State. People of this state had an enormous religious and cultural contact with Tibet for numerous centuries and it was thus felt amongst the people there that a culture centre would be of great importance in the nearby future.    In the year 1996 Men- Tsee- Khang decided to set up a culture center and thus it was inaugurated in the year 2003 on June 30 at Leh, Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. This center highlight Tibetan Medicine and Astrological Tradition, it also included those aspects of Tibetan Religion and Culture which attract intensive interests amongst the scholars, researchers and historians. The centre has museum, lecture hall, library and a clinic. Museum This museum is home to numerous collections majorly relating to Tibetan Museum, Astronomy and Astrology. It displays the medical text, raw ingredients in the anatomy of herbs and minerals. The different and unique type of tools used for medicinal treatments and for therapy. Astrological text used for measuring time, mandala, of four elements and revealing the formation of universe and etc. Thangkas, such as medicinal trees illustrating the allegorical and diagnosis tress, a thanka which illustrate the nerves and how they interacts the body, a thanka which displays the numbers of bone in the body. Well beside these there are various thankas found here. Apart from these medicinal and astrology fields you can also find numerous religious and cultural exhibits. Lecture Hall The Lecture Hall has the capacity of 100 to 150 people which is very well equipped with all the needed facilities. Series of Lectures, sermons, short term courses relating to Tibetan medicine, Tibetan culture and astrology will be one of the major activities of this center.   Clinic In order to provide health care facility a clinic is opened in the center where all sorts of people of the state are given treatment. This center is also very close and convenient for those who are residing in Leh, numerous patients along with the tourists can take medicinal benefit of the Tibetan Medicne from Men-Tsee-khang clinic. Library Library has scores of books on Tibetan Medicne, Astrology, Tibetan Buddhism Culture, so those interested to know about these virtues you can come here.