Sethukarnan's Hyderabad Tour Salar Jung Museum 9 Feb 2019

Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, Salar Jung III (1889–1949), a nobleman of the Salar Jung family of Hyderabad, served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad during the Nizam's rule. He spent a substantial amount of his income, over a period thirty-five years, collecting artifacts from all across the world. The star attraction of the museum is the sculpture of Veiled Rebecca by Italian sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni. It is one of four copies made by the sculptor and other three are in various museums of the US. European Art from the British, French and Italian schools is displayed. The furniture collection includes pieces from the time of King Louis XIV and Napoleon. Salar Jung III collected about 43,000 artifacts and 50,000 books and manuscripts out of which only few are displayed in today's museum. The "Founder's Gallery" houses portraits of Salar Jung III, as well as other members of the Salar Jung family. The Indian block includes jade-crafted daggers of Jahangir, Nur Jahan and Shah Jahan; and weapons belonging to Aurangzeb, Tipu Sultan, Muhammad Shah, Bahadur Shah and Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. Indian miniature paintings belonging to the Mughal, Rajasthani, Thanjavur and Deccan schools are displayed. Indian sculptures from the Gandhara and Chola periods are also displayed. The collection of modern Indian artworks includes works by Raja Ravi Varma, Abdur Rahman Chughtai, M.F. Hussain, K.K. Hebbar, Rabindranath Tagore, Abanidranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose.