By S. K, Sharma
What does the division of a pair of Gandhara sculptures showing the footprints of Gautam Buddha (along with other exhibits) in the wake of the partition of India in 1947 have to do with the Lahore Museum?
A lot. The two flat large schist slabs show Buddha’s footprints with signs of Swastika carved on. The fingertips, Dharmchakra on the. Sole, the Triratna on the heels. These exhibits are unique art pieces. One is on display at the Lahore Museum and the other in the Chandigarh Museum.
‘The Lahore Museum is known for its rich and varied collection of 90,000 art pieces. The museum has the largest collection of Gandhara sculptures among the various museums of Pakistan and the second largest in the Indian subcontinent.
‘These include the world famous fasting Buddha, birth of Bodhisataya Siddhartha and the miracle of Saraswati, Besides, the museum has a prized treasure of 50,000 coins in gold, silver and other metals.
‘The age of these exhibits ranges from 6th century BC to the present, In addition, the museum has small unmatched octagonal (S’/2” x 5 1/ 2” cm) Quranic manuscript and a Persian translation of the Mahabharata calligraphed by a renowned historian, Atma Ram, in 1841.
‘The Lahore Museum occupies a distinct place in the history of the subcontinent. It was first conceived as a house of wonders.
In 1864 the Punjab Government put up an industrial exhibition in the Tolliton market, it became so popular among the citizens that the authorities extended the period of the exhibition. Later on, it was named as the Industrial Art Museum and was housed in the same building. In the following year, the Punjab Government decided to create a museum on the Mall Road at Lahore.
‘The foundation stone of the new museum building was laid in 1890, Designed in Mughal style, the construction of the building took four years, It was inaugurated in 1894 by Prince Victor Albert, elder brother Of George V, to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
On August 20, 1948, the collections (of paintings, sculptures and decorative art) at the Lahore Museum were divided between East Punjab (India) and West Punjab (Pakistan). India received 40 per Cent of the artifacts in 1949 (for the new museum at Chandigarh set up in 1968). As one reaches the museum, Kim’s gun, exhibited outside, welcomes the visitors. This gun, known as Zam Zama, was brought to India by the Afghan conqueror, Ahmed Shah Abdali, to capture Delhi. It was engaged in the historic battle of Panipat. In 1802 this gun was seized by the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. An English novelist Rudyard Kipling, who lived in Lahore for a long time, immortalized it as “Kim’s gun.”
The museum has 18 galleries which presents the cross section of the history of the subcontinent. The exhibits have been pot up systematically. Gallery | shows carved woodert and painted doors of the 17th century Lahore and of Shalimar Garden. Of the 55 miniature paintings on display 26 are from the Mughal School nine from Rajput, seven are Persian and the rest are from the Deccan Malwa Central a Western India.
The visitor is attracted to a beautiful Mughal painting which shows, ladies playing polo.
A flight of steps and one enters Gallery II, devoted to Gandhara_ sculptures in the ancient times the name Gandhara applied to the part” of North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) Afghanistan Andy some parts of Punjab, Gandhara is™ more or less a religious arnt and appeared as a result of mass propagation of Buddhism. This flour* is heed during 1Scentury AD. |” As many as72 priceless Gandham ® sculptures are on display in the? Museum, These collections stand™ in the Tate 19th century from are” Chaco logical finds, when valuable gifts were received by the museum. Further down left one enters Galelery if where some pieces of Hindu Buddhist Jain and Tantric art from India Nepal Tibet and Burma are” displayed:
In Gallery TV one finds the objects from Soan valley Rohari Ama Galilpur Kot Diji Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
Gallery V is mainly devoted wy Islamic art. Besides other exhibits two inscriptions from Haryana are displayed here.
‘The next gallery is devoted to a collection of Chinese porcelain ivory metal work embroidered sill and other objects. It also has some Punjabi manuscripts and doucs ments of the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Gallery Vil has contemporary, paintings which show the web Of great artists of the Bengal school Ab nindra Nath, Gogonendra Nath Tagore and Asit Kumar Halder. In addition, the work of the artists Of Pakistan Abdul. Rehman Chugtai Allah Baksh are also exhibited.
In Gallery VIII a marble shrine shows a teakwood carved balcony from a Jain temple and a few Stat use of Jain Tirthankaras, Gallery IX is devoted to the arms used by
Hindu, Muslim and British armies: in India.
Perhaps the most valuable collection of Lahore Museum is that of 50,000 coins in gold silver copper and other metals. These range: from the ‘sixth century B.C. to the issues of the Pakistan’s ; and coins after 1947 all displayed in Gallery XV.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 16, 1994
