NEW DELHI: The Purana Qila will soon boast a new museum showcasing rare exhibits that include metal artefacts, stone idols, coins, and ivory paintings discovered at ancient sites such as Arikamedu, Kalibangan, and Hastinapura.
This is the first time that these articles will be displayed for public viewing. Housed in cells near the western fortification of the 16th-century fort, the new facility is likely to be inaugurated by Union culture minister Prahlad Singh Patel.
An official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said that after a go-ahead from the ministry, the date for its opening would be fixed as per the schedule of the minister. “Inauguration may possibly take place next week. However, all civil work, including interiors, has been done. Placement of artefacts is going on, and soon related information will be put up. A few exhibits will be available in the gallery for the first time for the people to see,” said the official.
The price of entry tickets for the new museum is yet to be decided. Besides a collection of stone idols of Vishnu, Brahma and Mahavir, and copper plate inscriptions, one of the rarest antiquities is a composite copper anthropomorphic figure along with a copper sword depicting a Varaha head.
Earlier, these cells remained locked, and their conservation and restoration were taken up following the directives of ASI director general Usha Sharma, who herself monitored the project. “The ASI will set up another museum in the remaining 35-metre-long portion of the corridor, which will be a kind of extension of the existing gallery located next to Bada Darwaza (northern gate). The work in the cells is on and is expected to be completed soon,” said the official.
The existing archaeological site museum in the fort complex showcases painted gray wares, pieces of pottery, terracotta items like toys, statues, and weapons, which were recovered during excavation at Purana Qila conducted by the ASI from 1950 to the 1970s. These articles are from the Mauryan, Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput, Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods.
Displays to include idols, inscriptions
Besides a collection of stone idols of Vishnu, Brahma and Mahavir, and copper plate inscriptions, one of the rarest antiquities to be displayed is a composite copper anthropomorphic figure along with a copper sword.