SALAR JUNG MUSEUM

The Salarjung Museum proudly holds the coveted crown of being one of the 'largest one-man collections of the World'. The prized possessions of the Salarjung Museum was opened to the public with an inaugural addressfrom Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on December 16, 1951.

The Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad houses over 43000 paintings, 9000 holographs and 47000 books that are all printed.The Salarjung Museum is the aspiration of Mir Yusuf Ali Khan better acquainted as Salar Jung III who was elected to be the Prime Minister of the Nizam 1912 when he was only 23. He later refused the post and consecrated his entire life to the accumulation of one of a kind antiques and paintings which was the sole source of joy in his desolate life.

The year 1961 marked the declaration of the Salarjung Museum of Hyderabad to be an 'Institute of National Importance' imposed by an act passed by the Parliament.

Special Features:-

• The section dealing with Indian Art comprises of sculptures of stone, bronze idols, cuttings of jade, painted textiles, wood carvings, small paintings, modern art , carvings of ivory, textiles, metal utensils, holographs, arms and various other war attires meant for protection.
  
  
  The next section at the Salarjung Museum ofHyderabad deals with art concerned with theMiddle Eastern Region whose prominent possessions include the amalgamation of prized carpets, paper (holographs), lacquer, sorted furniture, etc,that descended from countries like Egypt and Persia.

• Far Eastern Art section displays porcelain, lacquer utensils, exquisite items connected with embroidery and a wide array of inlay products originating from places like Thailand and Japan. Different paintings form an integral appendage of the European aggregation of antiques.
  
  
• Prominent Attractions:- Veiled Rebecca, ammunitions used by Aurangzeb, Noor Jahan, Shah Jahan, Mestophiles, The Lady With The Lamp and others.
  
  
  
• The Clock Room displays a breath-taking collection of about 300 antique clocks which consists of amusical clock that was manufactured by Cook and Levy from England.
• The Salarjung Museum is the third largest museum in India housing the biggest one-man collections of antiques in the world. It is well known throughout India for its prized collections belonging to different civilizations dating back to the 1^st century. Nawab Mir Yusuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III (1889–1949), former Prime Minister of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, spent a substantial amount of his income over thirty five years to make this priceless collection, his life's passion. The collections left behind in his ancestral palace, 'Diwan Deodi' were formerly exhibited there as a private museum which was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951. Old timers believe that the present collection constitutes only half of the original art wealth collected by Salar Jung III. His employees siphoned off part of it, since Salar Jung was a bachelor and depended upon his staff to keep a vigil. Some more art pieces were lost or stolen during the shifting of the museum from Dewan Devdi to the present site. Later in 1968, the museum shifted to its present location at Afzalgunj and is administered by a Board of Trustees with the Governor of Andhra Pradesh as ex officio chairperson under the Salar Jung Museum Act of 1961.
• The Indian historical collections includes,
  • The paintings of legendary Raja Ravi Varma
  • Aurangzeb's sword.
  • Jade crafted daggers of, Emperor Jehangir, Noorjahan and Shah Jehan.
  • A wardrobe of Tipu Sultan and
  • A tiffin box made of gold and diamond
  The furniture collection belonging from the time of Louis17^th and Napoleon. Salar Jung III collected about 43,000 artifacts and 50,000 books and manuscripts out of which only few are displayed in today's museum

The museum building in a semicircular shape with 38 galleries, spread on two floors, displays only a part of the original collections. The ground floor has 20 galleries and the first floor has 18 galleries. The exhibits on different subjects are displayed in separate galleries. Each gallery is huge and has many artefacts on display including ones dated back to the 17^th century.

Apart from the galleries, there is a reference Library, reading room, publication and education section, chemical conservation lab, sales counter, cafeteria etc. Guides are available at fixed timings free of charge