FOUNDATION DAY OF BIHAR MUSEUM

 I am the Bihar Museum! I welcome you to explore my treasures and artefacts in my galleries, rooms, corridors and courtyards! I am situated on a 13.5 acre plot on Bailey Road in Patna. The total built-up area is 24,000 square metres and the total gallery spaces add up to an area of 9500 square metre Bihar Museum’s stores have a vast coin collection, bronze and stone sculptures, paper documents, thangkas, miniatures and costumes and an array of archaeological finds. These are ided in 7 storage sections according to subject matter and materials. In addition there is a workroom for organizing new acquisitions and a supply store. • The Bihar Museum is the official repository of pre-1800 archaeological finds within the state and all future notable archaeological finds will be stored here. • Bihar Museum has a wide-ranging and significant coin collection – some 30,000 coins that range across the time of Pataliputra to the modern era including 500 gold coins. The Coin Gallery highlights the best of this collection. • The Museum is home to many fine bronze images, many which date from the post-Gupta era (6th-9th centuries). The oldest image reportedly dates from the Sunga period (ascendant after the fall of the Mauryan Empire, ca. 185 B.C.E.). As with stone sculpture, most of the subject matter is religious in nature, but the difference here is the relatively larger number of Jain images. (An excellent Mahivira image is on display on the second floor, along with other Jain Tirthankara's) The Jain images are dated based on prior cataloguing as mostly from the Kushana and the early Gupta period. Bronze sculptures are much smaller than the stone sculptures, with a good deal of small bronze figurines in the collection. • A collection of 37 Tibetan thangkas, date from the 15th to the 20th centuries, including one for every Dalai Lama of the period. These are interesting and significant, and are specially housed. Selections are displayed in the Buddhist Art of the Historical Art Gallery. • The Museum has small textile and costume collection not related to Bihar and select Tibetan costumes. These are limited to the recent period (19th and 20th centuries). A storybook-style illustrated map of India with important places and major transportation routes greets the children at the Orientation Room. A large sculpture of the sparrow and related exhibits illustrate to young children why the state bird, the sparrow, is endangered. Images are brought to life through flat screen monitors and lenticular printed graphics. The Children’s Gallery brings the history of Bihar and natural history alive for children here Education is combined with entertainment.