Napier Museum
Location
The Napier Museum is situated in Trivandrum, capital city of
Kerala.
Attractions
Architecture of the building, bronze and stone sculpture, wood and
ivory carvings, lamps, textiles, handicraft items, kuftgiri works
and traditional musical instruments.
Best Time to Visit
October to March
Timings
Open 1000 - 1645 hrs. Closed on Mondays, Wednesday forenoons,
Jaunary 26th, August 15th, Thiruvonam and Mahanavami.
History of the Museum
The 150 years old museum was established by Maharaja of Travancore
in 1855. Only few museums in India, like, Indian Museum Kolkata,
Madras Government Museum Chennai, are contemporary to Napier Museum.
In 1874, a new building was constructed and was named after Lord
napier, the then governor of Madras Presidency. The Architectural
masterpiece was designed by Mr. Chisoln, the consulting Architect of
the Madras Government and the construction completed in 1880. This
120 year old structure is a landmark in the city with its unique
ornamentation and architectural style with gothic roof and minarets.
Museum Attractions
The museum has a vast collection of artifacts of artistic, cultural
and antique importance, which comprises sculptures in bronze and
stone, carvings of wood and ivory, lamps, textiles, Kathakali
models, handicraft items, Kuftgiri works, traditional musical
instruments, a treasure of numismatic collections representing
Chera, Chola, Pandya dynasties of Southern India. The bronze display
include fascinating images of Siva, Vishnu, Parvathi and Lakshmi in
'Silpa Sastras'. The metal images illustrate the features of South
Indian sculpture style of 8th to 18th Century. The Vishnu image of
8th Century collected from Ambalapuzha temple in central Travancore
which has Pallava style is the oldest metal image in the State. The
stone sculptures belong to 8th to 18th century. All the wood
carvings exhibited here shows high degree of excellence. Each and
every exhibit has a wonderful and fascinating tale twined around it.
How to reach
Air
Thiruvanantapuram International Airport is connected to almost all
the major cities of India and world. Internally, one can hire taxis,
buses or auto rickshaws for reaching the destination from airport.
Rail
The Trivanmdrum railway station is a major oint in South India and
is therefore connected to all the major cities of India.
Road
The city has very well developed roadways connections to rest of
Kerala and nearby states. Some major cities distances are: Chennai-
708 Km, Banglore- 753 Km, Mumbai- 1543 Km, Coimbatore: 413 Km and
Calicut- 382 Km.
Accommodations
Thiruvanantapuram is a major city in South India and is a prime
tourist Destination. The city has very good stay options, which
include star rated hotels, luxury hotels & guest houses and
economy & budget hotels. The city can easily boast of the best
accommodation facility in South India.
