200 Years of the Indian Museum, Kolkata 2.2.2014

The foundation of the Indian Museum is an important milestone in the cultural heritage of India and heritage preservation. The museum grew out of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Dr. Nathaniel Wallich took charge of the museum on 1^st June, 1814. The Museum thus inaugurated, thrived rapidly under the guidance of its enthusiastic founder Wallich and individual collectors.  

The museum, known in the beginning as the “Asiatic Society Museum”, subsequently came to acquire the elevated status of the “Imperial Museum”. The familiar name of course was the “Indian Museum” described by the ordinary visitors as “Jadughar” or a‘House of Wonders’. Since 1878, at its present edifice, the Indian Museum has been rendering its services to the people of India as a centre of art and culture in India.

Crafts Museum 21.12.2010.

The Crafts Museum was established in 1956 as a resource centre for traditional Indian handicrafts and hand-looms.  The aim of the Museum is to preserve Indian art or ethnography and to build a collection of craft specimens.  The Museum is housed in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi under aegis of Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, and Government of India.

The Museum has a collection of 32000 artifacts.  Research and Development has been a regular activity of the Crafts Museum.  It has been observed that this unique Museum is serving all sections of society, including foreign visitors interested in India rich heritage. The Museum has completed 53 years of service in the field of handicrafts and handlooms and rendered yeoman service in the promotion of Indian heritage and culture. 

The Government Museum or Madras Museum, Chennai 19.6.2003

This Miniature sheet depicts three stamps and other artifacts in the Chennai Museum. The Government Museum or Madras Museum is a museum of human history and culture located in the neighbourhood of Egmore in Chennai, India. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in India after the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It has the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe. Among them, the colossal Museum Theatre is one of the most impressive. The National Art Gallery is also present in the museum premises. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, it houses rare works of artists like Raja Ravi Varma.

National Rail Museum - Silver Jubilee 7.10.1996

The National Rail Museum is a museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi which focuses on the rail heritage of India it opened on the 1 February 1977. It is located in over 10 acres (40,000 m²) of land with both indoor and outdoor exhibits. A toy train offers rides around that site on regular days. Museum remains open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (Last entry 4.30 pm) Tuesday to Sunday. Museum remains close on every Monday and National Holidays. The Indoor Gallery of the museum is closed for renovation.

The Baroda Museum 20.12.1994

State Museum Lucknow 11.1.1989

State Museum Lucknow is the oldest and largest multipurpose museum of Uttar Pradesh, established in 1863 by the then Commissioner of Lucknow. It harbours around one lakh antiquities in possession. Its areas of acquisition include: Natural History, Art & Archaeology, Paintings, Manuscripts, Numismatics, Decorative Art, Ivory, Anthropology and many more to count. A few very important antiquities like lion slayer type gold coin of samudra gupta of Gupta Period, Standing Buddha, Reclining Vishnu, Dancing Natraja, Rare Birds and animals are quite important.

The stamp depicts a round terracotta plaque showing goddess Durga seated on a lion. The plaque has a diameter of 36 cms and is dated 5th Century AD, from Sravasti (Bahraich) U.P. This is one of the many beautiful items displayed at State Museum, Lucknow. A Kangra painting depicting Radha & Krishna is shown on the first day cover.  

The Government Museum, Mathura

The Government Museum, Mathura previously known as the Archaeological Museum, is famous for its rich collecton of early Indian sculptures, particularly of the Kushana period. It was fonded in 1874 by Mr. F.S. Growse, the then District Collector and a great archaelogist. The traditions associating Mathura with the birth of Lord Krishna, the visit of the Buddha and of several Jain pontiffs made it a place of great attention for the followers of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. As a result, many places o worship sprang up in this city. However, later they lost their glory and became targets of vandalism by the foreign invaders. The monasteries which lay ruined gradually developed into several mounds in Mathura and its neigbourhood. These sites attracted the attention of archaelogists and Indologists who explored and excavated different mounds in search of art treasures. 

The characteristic features of Mathura School of Art are as follows:- i) Use of spotted red and stone; ii) Continuance of early art forms of Central India (particularly of Bharhut); iii) Fusion of primitive yaksha cult with pantheon of other sects; iv) Replacement of symbols by the anthropromorphic forms; v) Assimilation of foreign elements; vi) Development of new art forms; vii) Introduction of portrait figures; and viii) Exposition of feminine beauty with great delicacy and charm.

The two commemorative postage stamps issued during this centenary year were issued 'se-tenant' and show a lady playing a flute under a tree full of flowers and a Vidyadhara hovering in the air with a garland in his hands.