Cultural Heritage

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.

national museum of Pakistan

Established in 1949, A Journey through History of Ancient Civilizations
Subject: Archeology, history, manuscripts, historical records, numismatics and ethnology

At the entrance of the gallery, large relief map of vast territory of South-Western Asia shows routes that linked various regions. Inside the gallery is chronologically placed material from Stone Age, village cultures of Baluchistan and the great Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished more than a millennium from 2500 BC, influencing an area four times that of ancient Sumer. Harappa and Moenjodaro are now known as twin capital of this vast urban civilization.

What surprises the modern mind is careful town planning that went into building up Moenjodaro. The carefully laid-out streets, well-aligned houses, the efficient water-supply and drainage system and rectangular blocks pre-suppose the rule of well-established and strong civil authority enforcing strict laws.

Palm leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. They served as the paper of the ancient world in parts of Asia as far back as the fifteenth century BC. and possibly much earlier. They were used to record actual and mythical narratives in South Asia and in South East Asia. Initially knowledge was passed down orally, but after the invention of alphabets and their diffusion to South Asia, people eventually began to write it down in dried and smoke treated palm leaves of Palmyra palm or talipot palm. Once written down, each document had a limited time before which the document had to be copied onto new sets of dried palm leaves.

Jewellery Collections of national museum india

Jewellery American and British English spelling differences) signifies items of personal adornment, such as necklaces, rings, brooches, earrings and bracelets. Jewellery may be made from any material, such as gemstones, precious metals or shells, besides other materials, depending on cultural differences and availability of materials. Jewellery may be appreciated because of geometric or other patterns, or meaningful symbols. (Items such as belts and handbags etc. are considered to be accessories rather than jewellery.) The word jewellery is derived from the word jewel, which was Anglicised from the Old French "jouel" circa the 13th century. Further tracing leads back to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything. Jewellery is one of the oldest forms of body adornment; recently found 100,000 year-old beads made from Nassarius shells, are thought to be the oldest known jewellery. Jewellery is sometimes seen as wealth storage or functionally as holding a garment or hair together. It has from very early times also been regarded as a form of personal adornment. The first pieces of jewellery were made from natural materials, such as bone, animal teeth, shell, wood and carved stone. More exotic jewellery was probably made for wealthy people or as indications of social status. In some cases people were buried with their jewellery. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings and many more types of jewellery. While high-quality jewellery is made with gemstones and precious metals, such as silver or gold, there is also a growing demand for art jewellery where design and creativity is prized above material value. In addition, there is the less costly costume jewellery, made from lower value materials and mass-produced. Other variations include wire sculpture (wrap) jewellery, using anything from base metal wire with rock tumbled stone to precious metals and precious gemstones.

The museum has in its possession over 200,000 works of art, of both Indian and foreign origin, covering more than 5,000 years of Indian cultural heritage. Its rich holdings of various creative traditions and disciplines which represents a unity amidst diversity, an unmatched blend of the past with the present and strong for the future, brings history to life.

Buddhist Stupa containing relics of God, from a stupa built by Emperor Ashoka in 3rd century BCE.

Ancient age collection

Chart weights and copper balance,Mahenjodaro,2300-1750 BCE

(BREJEMAN collection,scp-57331; National museum of india,New Delhi, India)

"Ashoka's First Rock inscription at Girnar"

Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, has caused this Dhamma edict to be written.[1] Here (in my domain) no living beings are to be slaughtered or offered in sacrifice. Nor should festivals be held, for Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, sees much to object to in such festivals, although there are some festivals that Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, does approve of.

Formerly, in the kitchen of Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, hundreds of thousands of animals were killed every day to make curry. But now with the writing of this Dhamma edict only three creatures, two peacocks and a deer are killed, and the deer not always. And in time, not even these three creatures will be killed.

A prestigious collection of approximately 800 sculptures have been displayed in the Archaeological Galleries on the ground floor, the rotundas on the ground, first and second floors and around the museum building.

The sculptures displayed are mostly in stone, bronze and terracotta, dating from the 3rd century B.C., through the 19th century A.D., representing all major regions, periods and schools of art.

collections of national museum india

Chauri Bearer, replica, from a 2d century BC original in Patna.

Delhi National Museum, India.