Two of the most beautiful museums/palaces are in Hyderabad and today we have a look at them. The vast collection of antiques that these museums have will surprise you. And the peculiar part is that most of these are collections of one individual. The interest in art and architecture that was nurtured is really amazing. The palace which is now a museum has such beautiful architecture and decor that it will leave you stunned!!
Come along…let’s see the palace first…
Chowmahalla Palace
Once the residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad, this palace is a museum today though the ownership still lies with the Nizams. The present day palace was built by the Nizam at the location of one of the existing palaces of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. Since he built four palaces, it is called chow mahalla meaning four palaces.
Though the construction started in the 18th century, it went on over a few decades resulting in the integration of many architectural styles. It primarily has two courtyards, a durbar hall,fountains and gardens. What was originally covering an area of 45 acres; is only 12 acres today!
As one enters the palace gates, we are in the Northern Courtyard where there is a long central quadrangle with corridors on either side with a pond and landscaped lawns in the middle. Right opposite the entrance and forming the third side of the quadrangle is Durbar Hall or the Khilwat Mubarak.
Durbar Hall
This is considered the heart of the palace as it was the seat of the Nizams. Decorated marble pillars rise from a marble floor. The Royal Seat or throne made of marble adorns the centre of the Durbar Hall. Beautiful chandeliers of various sizes drop down from an elaborately carved ceiling adding to the splendour of the hall.
The Durbar Hall
At the Durbar hall with the chandeliers and the throne
The beautiful ceiling and corridor of the durbar hall
As mentioned earlier, the palace is a museum now and has exhibits under various categories . Most of them are articles used by the Nizams and their exhaustive collections of antiques.
The seals used by the Nizam and a collection of porcelain
Beautiful paintings reflecting various events in the palace are also displayed.
A painting of all the Nizams
A painting of a durbar in session
The other interesting thing at the palace is the collection of vintage cars and other transport from a bygone era…
One of the vintage cars displayed
The Southern Courtyard is also a quadrangle but the sides of the quadrangle are formed by the four palaces with a central fountain. The palaces are built symmetrically opposite to each other . The palaces have huge columns and the artwork on the exterior of these palaces is outstanding indeed.
Afzal Mahal, one of the palaces
The beautiful artwork on the palace exteriors
Going through the exhaustive collections in the Chowmahalla Palace museum, we were astouned at its sheer volumes. But our next destination Salar Jung Museum surpassed even this.
Salar Jung Museum
Established in 1951 at the ancestral palace of the Salar Jung family this museum was moved to its present location in 1968. The Jung family served as prime ministers to the Nizams of Hyderabad . This collection is a repository of art objects from Europe, middle East, far East and Indian art and heritage works from the Maurayan times to the Mughal era. Most of it is the collection of Salar Jung III. The museum has a manuscript section and a reference library.
Some pictures…
The Salar Jung Museum
Eastern Porcelain gallery
Ivory gallery
Kondapally toys and Indian Bronze
Indian Art and Textiles
One of the most popular exhibits here is an Italian Marble sculpture of Veiled Rebecca.
Veiled Rebecca
This is but a small example of the vast collections in this museum. Besides this, the walls of the central quadrangles are painted with murals and there is an ancient musical clock which is functional even now.
A mural on the wall of the centre court
The Musical Clock and it’s history
After walking through the various galleries at the museum, we were amazed at the sheer volumes of a personal collection!!
Tad tired after the long walk, we returned back to the cool comfort of the car and back to the hotel.
Next week, we cover some more interesting places in Hyderabad. Till then its goodbye…
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