- Location: Bhuj, Gujarat
- Founded In: 1877 AD.
- Founded By: Maharao Khengarji.
- Timing: 10am – 5pm
- Time Required: 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Entry Fee: Rs.5, Camera – Rs.100
- Prime Attraction: Oldest Museum of Gujarat.
If you haven’t included a trip to Kachchh Museum while you are in Gujrat, then you are sure to miss a lot of excitement. This museum is a house of colossal artifacts that bears the mark of great history. This enormous museum has 11 sections in it and most of which has regional content that describes this district.
The singularity of Kachchh Museum lies in its huge storehouse of Kshatrapa inscriptions, for its textiles, armory, and gold and silver ornaments. The site of Kachchh museum makes it visually stunning as it is erected on the banks of Hamirsar Lake and opposite to the museum lays Nazar Baugh Garden.
Artifacts on Display
Airavat
At the museum ground floor you can see the awesome figure of Airavat, the snow-white elephant of Lord Indra. This immaculate elephant has seven trunks and each of its trunks is crowned with a temple. This wooden statue dates back to the 18th century and depicts Indra going to worship Tirthankara.
The elephant body is decorated with the local wood engraving style named Kamgiri. You can see beautifully engraved flowers and creepers all over the figure. The splendor of this statue has made it appear in the postage stamp of India.
Inscriptions
There is a separate gallery of inscriptions in this museum. Most of the inscriptions are Kshatrapa’ inscriptions. The oldest among the Kshatrapa’ inscriptions is dated ’Saka’ 11, which implies that it was created during 89 AD. This ‘Saka’ inscription was found at Andhau and happens to be the most important of its kind. This inscription bears certain facts that revealed the true time period of Kshatrapa rule. The inscription also shows the name of the Saka founder; Chastan. Another inscription that this museum preserves, belong to the time of Abhir ruler Ishwardev i.e., 332 AD. This is the only Abhir inscription that is found in Gujrat.
Archeological Gallery
The archeological section of this museum consists of numerous articles. The most notable one among them are two Indus seals. One of the seals is square shaped and bears the image of unicorn and the seal belongs to the Indus site of Dholavira. The other one is from Khirsara.
There are two more fascinating seals that depict Lord Gautam Buddha.
You will come across some of the finest local craftsmanship in the form of bangles made of conch shells and perforated potteries.
You can see three amazing Jew tombstones that are collected from Jewish cemetery which doesn’t exist anymore.
Paintings
The gallery for paintings will show you drawing that are centuries old. You will be spellbound to see the 60ft long scroll that shows Muharram procession.
Armory Gallery
The weapons that are showcased in this gallery are varied and belong to various time periods. One of the major objects in this gallery is a cannon made in the year 1790. The Arabic inscription over this cannon shows that it was a gift from Tipu Sultan to army Chief Jamadar Fateh Mohmad.