The Shri Pratap Singh Museum, commonly known as the SPS Museum, is a museum in

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, Jammu and Kashmir,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Established in 1898, the museum houses a collection of over 80,000 objects from various regions in

Northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

Description

History

In 1889, a proposal for the foundation of an archaeology museum in the Indian city of

was formulated by Amar Singh and S.H. Godmerry. Singh was an officer in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, while Godmerry was a scholar. The pair produced and submitted a

memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...

Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir Pratap Singh (18 July 1848 – 23 September 1925) was the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), Jammu and Kashmir, and head of the Jamwal Rajput clan of the ruling Dogra dynasty. He was succeeded as Maharaja by his nephew, Hari Sing ...

, the ruler of Sringar and Amar's older brother. The Majarah accepted the proposal and agreed to allow for the establishment of a museum; this new institution would house artifacts from

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

, Kashmir,

Baltistan Baltistan (); also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and constitutes a northern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

and

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina language, Shina: ; ) is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

. The museum was to be located inside a state-owned building near the

Jhelum river The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...

. The establishment of the museum was overseen by John Marshal, a British archaeologist (and future director of the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

) who was renowned for his work in preserving the archaeological history of India. Srinagar's Accountant General, one Mr. Blerjee, was appointed as the first president of the museum; Blerjee was also tasked with recording a large collection of coins the museum added to its collection. The museum opened to the public in 1898, with its first collection consisting of items from Majarah Pratap's palace treasury. Following the re-organizational efforts of Indian archaeologist

Daya Ram Sahni Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni CIE (16 December 1879 – 7 March 1939) was an Indian archaeologist who supervised the excavation of the Indus valley site at Harappa in 1920 to 1921. The first report on Harappan excavations came out on 29 March ...

in 1913, the museum received objects recovered from archaeological excavations in Panderenthan, Parihaspora and Avantipura. The collection of the museum continued to grow through the donation of items by private collectors; many of these items were domestic or household in nature.''Valley’s lone museum opens to public''. The Tribune. 12 Jun 2017. URL. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/valley-s-lone-museum-opens-to-public/420829.html Retrieved 2018-11-16. In 2017, the museum finished constructing a second building. The new building was built to be fire and earthquake resistant, and is used to house some of the SPS's more popular exhibits. The older 19th-century building remains in use.

References

External links

SPS Museum Facebook pageArchived webpage of SPS Museum
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Srinagar Archaeological museums in India History of Srinagar Museums in Jammu and Kashmir

Description

History

See also

References

External links