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Museums in Orissa
With a very few numbers of museums present in the
state, the most famous museum at Orissa is the State
Museum which began as a subsidiary of Ravenshaw
College's History Department.
With a wide range of antiquities being added every year, the
museum has gradually become one of the premier
institutions of the state standing as mute evidence to
the rich cultural heritage of the region. Archaeology,
epigraphy, numismatics, armory, mining, geology,
painting, anthropology and manuscripts, you can have
them all in the museum.
One of the most significant aspects of this museum is its
manuscript gallery. Some of the rare palm leaf
manuscripts about 50,000 in number are housed in this
gallery. Covering diverse subjects like religion,
philosophy, astronomy, astrology, poetry, science,
medicine, mathematics, warfare and the crafts, these
manuscripts are a repository of artistic expressions of
that time.
These manuscripts were made by the incision of Oriya script
on a dried palm leaf with a stylus. The manuscripts at
the museum depict highly symbolic scenery with costumes,
jewellery, hairstyle and facial expressions similar to
stone sculptures of Orissa.
Abhinava Gita Govinda is believed to be one of the earliest
palm leaf manuscripts dating back to 1496. The museum
also houses an illustrated manuscript of Gita Govinda
written by the 12th century poet Jayadeva. Displaying an
advanced writing technology, it has 80 folios in rich
primary colors that have remained intact even after such
a long period.
Orissa State Museum,
Bhubaneshwar - This Museum in bhubaneshwar
shows India most artistic traditions with influences
form Buddhism, Jainism, and Brahminical styles. The
Museum also showacase archaeology and numismatics,
armoury, natural history and contemporary art. |
