Shri Bhavani Museum, Aundh – The Museum

Shri Bhavani Museum, Aundh – The Museum

The museum is situated at the mid of the hill where Yamai Temple is located. The Museum houses rich collection contains objects of sandalwood and ivory, Indian miniature paintings, paintings of Bengali and Western themes, style and origin and contemporary paintings. The great collection that the museum exhibits is actually the lifetime collection of Bhawanrao, who during the first four decades of this century spent his time and fortune picking up these masterpieces. The 12 display rooms inside have glass panes on the ceilings for enough sunlight to flow in. The Museum has a self-portraiture statue of Shrimant Bhawanrao, as a tribute to founder of the museum.

Paintings Section:

The museum has 500 miniature paintings of all major schools – Jaipur, Kangra, Mughal, Punjab, Bijapur, Pahadi, Bengali, western and Maratha of the period between 15^th and 19^th century. It is probably the only museum in India, which has such a large collection. The museum has four sections entirely devoted to Western paintings, of which about 150 have been displayed- many of them originals. The works adorning the walls are that of the leading contemporary European masters of the early half of the 20th century, mostly between 1900 and 1938.

The museum holds paintings by noted artists such as M. V. Dhurandhar, Baburao Painter, Madhav Satwalekar, Oleti of Thakursing, Karnil, Andridil, Sortobardana, Francis Goya, Chairasee Frank, Estman, Mistueth, Jamini Roy, Nandalal Bose, Bhuvan Verma, Sadhana Ukil, Jones Bero and Raja Ravi Varma. Three paintings by Raja Ravi Varma is the pride of the Museum.

Noteworthy among them are Virgin Woman, Road to Paris, Views of Venus, Madonna of the Book, In the Prison of Aurangzeb, Beggar Boy, Game of Draughts, Boy Volunteer, Sunset, Sairandhree, Damayanti, Malayali Lady, Bathing Damsel, Final meal and models of Monalisa. The museum carries a special section devoted entirely to paintings by Bhawanrao himself.

Stone Sculptures Section:

The museum has a big department of stone created structures including the famous Mother and Child stone structure by the British artist Henry Moore. Moore's creation was last seen in Delhi nearly 10 years ago when the British Council organised an exhibition of Moore's sculptures. At the time, the Mother and Child sculpture, which was listed in Moore's list as having been sold to the Raja of Aundh, was transported to Delhi. The estimated value was then put at 1.25 lakh and the insurance charges for transportation from Aundh to Delhi and back was a whopping 85,000. The caretakers and the descendants of the princely family realized its importance and kept it in safety room.

Bronze & Marble Sculpture Section:

The bronze and marble sculpture section in the courtyard has several miniature marble statues of Greek mythological figures, where Apollo, David and Mercury jostle with Dyna and Venus for space. It also houses bronze sculptures of Running Mercury, Kamdev, Agni Dev.

Jewelry & Priceless Items:

The museum houses 4,000 articles of jewelry and other priceless items, including a rare walking stick supposed to have belonged to Emperor Jehangir, made of ivory and studded with 208 rubies, and a 50 paisa coin-sized emerald. The handle and the corner of the stick is of pure gold. The Tibetan wall hanging depicting Vishnu is studded with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and crystal and decorated with gold threads. All these items are housed in the strong room for safe keeping.

Library:

It also contains above 8,000 articles and 16,000 texts. Of these numerous books, there are about 3500 handwritten holy books.

Garden:

The museum has a very small garden within its premises. There is a collection of the statues of 6 Indian seasons, installed in the garden of the Sri Bhavani Museum.