Malda Museum is an archaeological

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

under the West Bengal Directorate of Archaeology. The museum was established in 1937 and is situated on Subhankar Bandh Road of

English Bazar English Bazar Municipality is responsible for the civic administration of the town of Malda in Malda district, West Bengal, India. Established in 1868, it is one of the oldest Municipalities in India Municipal or local governance refers to the ...

Malda district Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km (215 miles) north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this district. T ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, India.

Overview

The museum took off initially as a collection of historic artifacts found within the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

and was set up within the premises of the Malda District Library. It was later shifted to a new adjacent building of its own and granted the status of a museum in its own right under the State Directorate of Archaeology. Though Malda itself came up only in the times of

British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts est ...

, the region had been the seat of power of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

since the 7th century till the late 16th century, when the nearby Gour and Pandua served as the capital cities of the entire Bengal region. The museum, renovated and revamped recently, showcases the archaeological,

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

, and historical heritage of the region. The museum has a number of fine specimens of

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with clay ...

s, calligraphic inscription tablets, terracotta plaques and other artifacts that represent more than 1500 years of history and heritage.

References

1937 establishments in India Museums established in 1937 Archaeological museums in India Museums in West Bengal Maldah Tourist attractions in Malda district {{india-museum-stub