India Guide
Tamil Nadu
Government Museum
Address: Pantheon Road, south of Egmore railway station
Price: Rs250, camera Rs200, video camera Rs500
Opening time: Daily except Fri 9.30am–5pm
Chennai's Government Museum holds remarkable archeological finds from south India and the Deccan, stone sculptures from major temples, and its unsurpassed collection of Chola bronzes. The first gallery in its deep-red, circular main building, fronted by Italian-style pillars and built in 1851, is devoted to archeology and geology; the highlights are the dismantled panels, railings and statues from the second-century AD stupa complex at Amaravati. Depicting episodes from the Buddha's life and scenes from the Jataka stories from ancient Hinayana Buddhist texts, these sensuously carved marble reliefs are widely regarded as the finest achievements of early Indian art, outshining even the Sanchi toranas.
High, arcaded halls full of stuffed animals lead to the ethnology gallery, where models, clothes, weapons and photographs of expressionless faces in orderly lines illustrate local tribal societies, some long since wiped out. A fascinating display of wind and string instruments, drums and percussion includes the large predecessor of today's sitar and several very old tablas. Nearby, a group of wooden doors and window frames from Chettinad, a region near Madurai, are exquisitely carved with floral and geometric designs much like those found in Gujarati havelis.
The museum's real treasure, however, is the modern, well-lit gallery, left of the main building, which contains the world's most complete and impressive selection of Chola bronzes. Large statues of Shiva, Vishnu and Parvati stand in the centre, flanked by glass cases containing smaller figurines, including several sculptures of Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance, encircled by a ring of fire. One of the finest models is Ardhanarishvara, the androgynous form of Shiva; the left side of the body is female and the right male, and the intimacy of detail is astounding. A rounded breast, a delicate hand and tender bejewelled foot are counterpoints to the harsher sinewy limbs and torso, and the male side of the head is crowned with a mass of matted hair and serpents.
The magnificent Indo-Saracenic art gallery houses old British portraits of figures such as Clive and Hastings, plus Rajput and Mughal miniatures, and ivory carvings.