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The Story
OrganizerFounded in 1851 under the auspices of the Madras Literary Society and the colonial government, the museum grew rapidly through archaeological finds, gifts and acquisitions across South India. Its Amaravati sculptures, recovered from the great Buddhist stupa, and its incomparable gallery of Chola bronzes, including celebrated images of Nataraja, made it a centre of art-historical scholarship, while its Indo-Saracenic buildings became landmarks of Chennai's cultural landscape.
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Cultural Significance
▾The Government Museum, Chennai is a foundational institution of Indian art history, safeguarding the supreme achievements of South Indian bronze casting and the Amaravati school, and standing among the great museums of the country.