Napier Museum Trivandrum, Trivandrum

One of the most popular sections of the Napier Museum is the South East Asian Gallery. The gallery houses the personal collection of the last Maharaja of Travancore. Numerous wood and metal objects made by the Chinese are kept here. You can also see the famous celadon porcelain art of ancient China. These objects come from the king’s visit to these lands in the 20th century. The gallery is, in fact, home to rare ancient Chinese art.

The Coin Gallery of Napier Museum has a massive collection of more than 5,000 coins. It is very famous among students of history and numismatics. These coins belong to nine different eras of Indian and world history. The gallery has photographs of coins placed next to the displays to help better understanding. Some of the main coin groups are the coins from Vijayanagara and the Chola, Chera, and Pandya kingdoms. You can also see coins of Turkish, Chinese, Persian, Roman and Dutch origin here.

The Bronze Gallery of Napier Museum is home to many bronze sculptures from ancient India. Much of the collection consists of images of Hindu deities made in different styles. These sculptures were made in the way shown in ancient texts called Silpashastras. The eighth-century Lord Vishnu sculpture from the Pallava kingdom is the oldest here. The sculptures date to different eras and show the development of bronze art over several centuries under many rulers.

The Musical Instruments Gallery of Napier Museum has a collection of Indian instruments from all over the country. These musical pieces are rare, and many are already lost in time. The instruments here range from basic musical instruments made from simple material to highly developed modern versions of classical Indian instruments. You can also spot rare instruments like the yazhl here, which have now gone out of use. Some of the popular exhibits at the gallery are the Panchavadyam, Veena, Sarangi, Ektar, and Nanduni. You can also see rare instruments like the Thakil, Thabala, Chenda and Bhuri here.

The Ivory Carvings Gallery of Napier Museum is famous for its beautiful collection of ivory objects. The collection spans different eras of Indian history and shows how the craft developed under various rulers. These objects show how the skill of ivory carving survived and changed over centuries. Some of the most famous objects here are the sculptures of Sree Chithira Thirunal and Radha-Krishna. You can also see idols of Shiva-Parvathi, Mahishasuramardini, and Lord Buddha in this gallery.