Government Museum, Bengaluru

The Government Museum stands on Kasturba Road in Sampangi Rama Nagara, central Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, beside Cubbon Park. Established in 1865, it is one of the older museums in southern India and was created during the British Commissioner period to house archaeological, geological and natural-history material gathered in Mysore state. Its collections span from prehistory to the Mysore period. The archaeology galleries are best known for terracotta and other finds from Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley civilisation, along with material from Neolithic and Iron Age sites in Karnataka and Chandravalli. The sculpture galleries display stone images from the Hoysala and Vijayanagara periods, and further sections hold inscriptions, coins including Mysore coinage, arms, manuscripts, paintings and decorative arts, as well as geology and natural-history specimens. The building is a colonial-era brick structure with a colonnaded frontage, typical of nineteenth-century civic architecture, set in a garden that also holds outdoor sculptures. The curatorial approach is largely thematic and by material type, arranged by gallery, with older labelling reflecting the museum's long history. Some galleries have been modernised, while others retain traditional glass cases, and the sculpture hall remains the most striking room. The museum is administered by the Karnataka Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage. Conservation and refurbishment have been carried out in stages, though parts of the display and labelling still show their age. Visitors should allow around two hours, and the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum are next door, making a combined visit practical. The museum is closed on Mondays and the entry fee is nominal.