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The
buildings of the Museum and Picture
Gallery, Baroda, are situated in the
pastoral environment of Sayaji Park, an
extensive and beautiful Public park of the
city, and are easily accessibility is one
of the chief factors contributing to the
popularity of this museum, for even the
most casual visitor to Baroda for a day's
sight-seeing, makes a trip to the museum
on his way to or back from the city. Also,
the main route connection the railway
station to the city of Baroda fringes the
southern entrance of the Sayaji Park,
where a bus stop is provided for the
convenience of visitors to the Baroda
Museum.
An imposing
equestrian statue of the late Maharaja
Sayajirao III Gaekwad of Baroda, at the
entrance of the park, heralds visitors
into the beautiful garden, which leads
them quite unmistakably to the museum
building.
The Baroda
Museum was founded in the year 1887 by
Maharaja Sayajirao III Gaekwad of Baroda,
a great-enlightened visionary amongst the
Indian princes, and the rightful pioneer
of this institution. The Museum is one of
the many institutions, which this
benevolent ruler created for the welfare
and education his subjects-his foresight
and taste was responsible for its unique
and varied collections. He collected these
priceless finds by often making numerous
trips to many distant countries. He went
about it systematically-buying them
himself or entrusting various scholars and
art connoisseurs to do this special job.
It is on account, of this exclusive,
choice collection that the Baroda Museum
to-day possesses some very rare exhibits
and enjoys an international reputation,
being considered as one of the best in the
East.
The
foundation stone of the museum building
was laid in 1887 A.D. and the building was
completed in: 1894. The construction of
the Picture Gallery building began in 1908
and was completed in 1914; but the gallery
could only be opened in 1921, as the
transport of the collection of European
paintings to India was not possible until
after World War I. Later, the open
galleries around both the buildings were
converted into additional exhibition rooms
and an Open-air Archaeological Section was
also constructed.
The Museum
and Picture Gallery, Baroda, are two
separate two-storied buildings built in
the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture.
The two buildings were specially designed
by the English Architects, Mr. R. F.
Chisholm, F.R.I.B:A., the then Consulting
State Architect, and Major R. N. Mant, R.E.
The general outline of the museum building
is in conformity with the traditional
local Maratha architecture of wooden
framework filled with brick walls. But the
ground floor has the pure European style,
including a cornice decorated with a
plaster copy of Parthenon frieze; the
south porch rising on a vast flight of
steps is decorated with early and later
Mughal forms.
The Picture
Gallery building is also a two-storied
structures but somewhat smaller. It is
designed in simple European brick style,
but has Indian columns and open pavilions
of the roof. The two buildings are
connected by a covered bridge passage,
beneath which the entrance to the
buildings taken together is about
40,000..sq. ft. |
