State Museum, Lucknow
A commemorative postage stamp on the 125th Anniversary of the Lucknow State Museum, Uttar Pradesh :
Issued by India
Issued on Jan 11, 1989
Issued for : The Department of Posts issues this stamp on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the State Museum, Lucknow.
Description of Design : The stamp depicts a round terracotta plaque showing goddess Durga seated on a lion. The plaque has a diameter of 36 cms and is dated 5th Century AD, from Sravasti (Bahraich), U.P. This is one of the many beautiful items displayed at State Museum, Lucknow.
Type : Stamp, Mint Condition
Colour : Two Colour
Denomination : 60 Paise
Overall size : 3.34 x 2.88 cms.
Printing size : 3.34 x 2.88 cms.
Perforation : 13 x 13
Paper : Imported unwatermarked adhesive gravure stamp paper
Number Printed : 15,00,000
Number per issue sheet : 42
Printing Process : Photogravure
Printed : India Security Press
About :
- The State Museum, Lucknow, the oldest in the State, was established in 1863. The idea of having a repository of specimens of art and history was conceived by Col. Abbott, the then Commissioner of Lucknow Division. Beginning modestly as a Municipal institution in Chhoti Chhatar Manzil, it became a Provincial Museum in 1833 and was shifted in 1884 to the Lal Baradari.
- Dr. A. A. Fuhrer, a well-known archaeologist, became the first curator in March 1885. Indologists like R. D. Banerjee, Pandit Hiranand Shastri, Dr. V. S. Agarwal, Dr. Bhagwat Sharan Upadhyaya and Prof. K. D. Bajpai, were associated with the Museum in various capacities.
- In 1950 the Provincial Museum was re-designated the State Museum, Lucknow, and in 1963 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the new building in which the expanding collection of the Museum was housed.
- The Museum has a collection of about 83000 specimens broadly classified into five major sections : archaeological, numismatic, art, natural history and ethnography. Apart from these, the collection also has representations of ornaments, arms & armours, manuscripts & firmans, musical instruments and other miscellaneous items.
- The Museum’s acquisitions are by purchase of antiquities, through exploration and finds under the Treasure Trove Act. Efforts have been made to make the presentation of items lively, natural and scientific. The Museum is a centre of educational and cultural activities, organizing lectures, symposia, workshops, film shows and exhibitions highlighting Indian culture and archaeology. It is also a research centre for Kanpur University with a specialized reference library, well-equipped photographic and conservation laboratories for the treatment and restoration of art objects. The Museum also has a modelling section to prepare replicas of selected pieces in plaster of paris & fibre-glass.
