The History and Origin of Kashmir Museum
By Jaisonvincent
@globlvisiontour
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 2nd 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.