Telangana State Museum

The Telangana State Museum, formerly the Hyderabad State Museum and later the Andhra Pradesh State Museum, stands on Public Gardens Road in Nampally, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was established in 1930 under the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, at a time when the Nizam's government was investing in archaeology, education and public institutions, and it was housed in a building within the Public Gardens, an area associated with the Nizam-era civic centre. The building itself is an Indo-Saracenic structure of stone with domes and arched verandahs, opened as a museum to exhibit the state's archaeological finds and art. The collection covers a long timespan, from prehistoric and megalithic material to Asaf Jahi times. Its archaeology galleries hold finds from sites across Telangana, and the museum is known for bronze and stone sculptures, coins, inscriptions, Buddhist antiquities from sites such as Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda, arms and armour, decorative arts and paintings. A mummy of ancient Egyptian origin, a gift to the Nizam, has long been one of its popular attractions. The galleries are arranged largely by theme and material, including archaeology, bronzes, arms and Buddhist art, and the labelling is functional, mostly in English. Over the decades the museum has expanded with new blocks, and the state government has carried out renovation and modernisation, including improved lighting and display cases. The condition of the galleries varies, with some areas well presented and others showing wear, and conservation of older exhibits is an ongoing effort. The museum lies close to the Public Gardens, the Assembly building and other institutions of central Hyderabad, and it is normally visited as a half-day outing. A visit takes around two hours, and the museum is closed on Fridays. Visitors interested in the wider history of the Deccan will find it a useful complement to the Salar Jung Museum and to the forts and tombs of the Qutb Shahi era.