During the forty-three-year reign of Philippe Auguste (1180–1223), the power and influence of the French monarchy grew considerably, both inside and outside the kingdom. In 1190, a rampart was built around Paris, which was Europe’s biggest city at the time. To protect the capital from the Anglo-Norman threat, the king decided to reinforce its defenses with a fortress, which came to be known as the Louvre. It was built to the west of the city, on the banks of the Seine. |  | |
| ||
It is worth a visit to view its collection of local treasures, which range from ancient stone carvings, wood carvings, metal sculptures, and ancient images of the Buddha and Hindu deities from different periods.
Located a short distance from the Swayambhunath, the National Museum consists of three buildings. As you approach it, the building on your left is the Art Gallery displaying statues, wood carvings and paintings. The building straight ahead is the Buddhist Art Gallery displaying Buddhist art objects while the building on the right is the Museum of Natural History.
Perhaps the most interesting exhibit at the Art Gallery are four stolen images that have since been returned from Los Angeles. The four items are the head of the 12th century Veenadharini Saraswati; the 9th century Buddha from Bhinchhe Bahal, Patan; the 14th century Surya from Panauti's Triveni Ghat; and the 10th century Garudasana Vishnu from Hyumat Tole, Kathmandu. These were voluntarily returned to Nepal by an anonymous collector. Other prominent displays at the Art Gallery include the 2nd century image of the Lichhavi King Jayavarma.
Museum has a collection of some of the finest pieces of bronze created by Valley artisans and the number of items is about 900. With good representations of both Hindu and Buddhist religions, the art work ranges from Malla to the later period. The oldest work of art there is believed to be from the llth century AD.
The National Museum of Nepal was established in 1928AD. It was initially structured to act as an arsenal museum. The building itself is very old and was constructed in the early 19th century. The initial name of this museum was "the stone house of arms and ammunitions". It was opened as a public museum in the year 1938 and was christened The National Museum of Nepal only in year 1967. Previous to that, only foreign scholars and invitees or guests of the Ranas were allowed to have a look of these wonderful collections. The museum has separate galleries dedicated to statues, paintings, murals, coins and weapons.
Among these, the most visited is the weapon gallery. This gallery has a very magnificent collection of weapons that range from the Licchhavis era to the British resistance period. Among others, it contains various types of Nepalese swords that are called Khukri in the local language. It also contains various types of guns that range from the sultanate era Turkish long barrel to the Royal Enfield built British guns. The coins segment is also very popular. The oldest coin on display dates back to 12th century. There are separate coins that were issued by the warring families of Shahs and Ranas.
The painting and mural section is not that impressive. Though there are some good medieval collections of Murals that have been excavated from the Tarai regions. These murals have deep Mauryan and Licchhavis influence. There are various statues too that have been excavated from the various parts of the kingdom. The ones from the era of the Buddhist dominance are the most impressive. Though very small proportion of these statues is in complete shape, efforts have been made to stop further corrosions. These efforts are worth appreciation because these have been undertaken under extreme financial constrains.
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic populations. It includes fields as varied as architecture, calligraphy, painting, and ceramics, among others. Typically, though not entirely, Islamic art has focused on the depiction of patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather than on figures, because it is feared by many Muslims that the depiction of the human form is idolatry and thereby a sin against Allah, forbidden in the Qur'an.
The land where the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is situated today had been a seat of world’s leading Civilizations from the time immemorial. There is plenty of evidence from the pre-historic and historic period to support this argument, e.g. fossil jaws of apes, circa 14 millions years old found from Pothohar.
The legacy of our predecessors at the time of our independence, on August 14, 1947, came to us as a treasure which may be called as Pakistan’s national heritage. So rich and diversified is this heritage that Pakistani nation can be proud of its glorious past, be Islamic, Post Islamic or pre-Islamic period as far back as pre-historic times. No other country of the world can produce the treasure of by gone days as can be found in Pakistan. It is now incumbent upon us to treasure our national heritage and save it from further deterioration and theft.
The establishment of NFCH is much appreciated and a great interest is shown by the general public hence since its establishment in 1994 hundreds of proposals were received from different agencies and individuals for the conservation, preservation and publication of the Pakistan’s national heritage. It is hoped that with the continued patronage of the government, the Philanthropists and the Business Community to the NFCH we shall be able to achieve the aforesaid goal.
