Albert Hall Jaipur

the Albert Hall Museum is the oldest museum in Rajasthan. Built in 1876, it was initially envisioned to be a concert hall and resembles the architecture of the Victoria and Albert Hall Museum in London, hence, the name. It is a standing example of the Indo-Saracenic architecture and is also known as Government Central Museum. Albert Hall Museum has an extensive collection of artefacts brought from the different regions of the world that are divided over a whopping 16 art galleries! The museum takes on a whole new facade as the night falls and the entire building glows with yellow lights, which looks extremely beautiful. You can relax in the gardens with the stunning view of Albert Hall in the backdrop. It is certainly a great place to get a peek into the history and ancient culture of India.

Flanked by lush green gardens, the foundation of Albert Hall was laid on 6 February 1876 when Albert Edward visited India. The galleries of the museum have a collection of antiques and artefacts from the past that will blow away your mind. The ancient coins, marble art, pottery, carpets and especially the Egyptian mummy are a treat to the eyes of history buffs. The building itself from the outside has an alluring architecture. The Indo - Saracenic inspired domes and intricately carved arches constructed from sandstone is mesmerizing.

The different galleries of this museum include
1. Metal Art Gallery
2. International Art Gallery
3. Coins
4. Woodwork and Furniture
5. Marble Art
6. Arms and Armour Gallery
7. Jewelry
8. Carpets
9. Musical Instruments
10. Garments
11. Ivory
12. Clay Work
13. Pottery
14. Miniature Gallery etc.

History of Albert Hall Museum
The foundation of Albert Hall was laid during the visit of the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward to Jaipur in 1876. It was not sure how the building would be used. On the suggestion of Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II in 1880, a temporary museum was built in 1881 to display the products of local craftsmen. The Albert Hall was completed in 1887 by the architect, Samuel Swinton Jacob, Director of Jaipur PWD. The temporary museum, whose artefacts were collected from several parts of India and its neighbours were shifted in the new museum.

The building became a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The corridors were decorated with murals in a variety of styles and European, Egyptian, Chinese, Greek and Babylonian civilizations were portrayed to enable the visitors to develop their knowledge of art and history. Thus, Albert Hall became a centre for imparting knowledge of the history of civilizations, inspiring artisans to enhance their skills and preserving & developing traditional Indian arts, crafts and architectural forms.