Albert Hall Museum Jaipur, Timings of Albert Hall, Entry Fee (Ticket), Attractions, History of Albert Hall, Architecture, Best Time to Visit, Facilities, How to Reach Albert Hall.
About Albert Hall Museum
The Pink City of Jaipur is known for being home to architectural wonders, one of which is the Albert Hall Museum, one of the most popular tourist attractions of the city. It was originally a concert hall that was erected way back in the year 1876. This splendid architecture is now a popular Museum of Jaipur, showcasing the objects and artifacts of the rich history of India and more. The museum is known not only for its exquisite collection but also for its wonderful architecture. The museum has 16 galleries in total and one gallery is declared ‘gallery of the month’. The museum has a design quite similar to the Victoria and Albert museum in London.
Situated in the Ram Niwas Garden of Jaipur, the great Albert Hall is the oldest museum of Rajasthan. Standing as a perfect epitome of Indo-Saracenic architecture, the building is named after the Prince of Whales, Albert Edward. Also called as the Government Central Museum, it has an extensive collection of artefacts brought from the different regions of the world which makes it a hub of imparting knowledge on Indian history. The night tourism is even more exciting. The entire building glows with yellow lights in the evening which looks extremely beautiful. You can relax in the gardens with the stunning view of Albert Hall in the backdrop. Or gorge on the ice-creams and chaats from the thellas that are parked nearby. The Albert Hall is the right place to head when you feel like knowing about Indian history profoundly.
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.
History
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.
Architecture
Featuring Indo-Saracenic architecture and stone ornamentation, Albert Hall Museum became an iconic structure soon after its completion. Also, it became a great source of reference for varied classical Indian styles of design and architecture which came from Mughal to Rajput eras.
The corridors of the museum are decorated with murals in different styles. The museum has paintings from illustrations in the Persian Razmnama which were especially prepared for Emperor Akbar. In most of the murals, Chinese, European, Egyptian, Greek and Babylonian civilizations have been portrayed. There are a number of archways, courtyards and towers in the museum, which speak much about the rich architectural heritage of the country. There are many miniature paintings and portraits of the royal kings displayed in the museum.
Attractions
Metal Art– Houses a vast collection of 19th century including salvers, vessels, rare salvers with zodiac signs, shields of Mahabharata, Ramayana and Ashwa-medh, brass, zinc and bronze figures etc.
Arms & Armour– Weapons used by Mughals, Rajputs, Iranians, Hyderabadis, Turkish and Arab soldiers including bows, arrows, spears, helmets, Tiger knives, swords, Karanshihi work in gold and silver, Arabic calligraphy and more.
Pottery– Exquisite collection of Indian pottery belonging to the 19th century, special Blue pottery of Jaipur, glazed pottery of Delhi, Multan and Sindh and unglazed collection from Hyderabad, Bikaner etc.
Sculptures–A fine collection of statues belonging to different centuries including a stone statue of Lord Shiva from the 8th century, a 4th century statue of a Yakshi, a Black stone sculpture of Chaturbhuj Vishnu and so on.
Miniature Paintings-There are miniature paintings on various themes from the Mewar School such as Malti Madhava, Panchtantra, Krishna Avtar Charitra, etc. Then there are Jain paintings on wood with lacquer, scenes from Ramayana, royal paintings, paintings from Jaipur School, Ragmala paintings and more.
Clay Art– A vast collection of clay figures from the 19th century including figures with range of Yogic postures, traditional masks, craft making activity, professional castes, sociological themes etc.
Marble Art– An exotic collection of Indian stone sculptures that earlier belonged to temples, sculptures carved by artisans, other idols including Nav Grahas, Lord Ganesh, Shiv Pariwar, Jain Tirthankars.
International Art– The museum also has a nice collection of International art such as Japanese dolls of the 19th century, Pharaonic antiquities 11th-1st century B.C, huge Nepalese brass Buddha, Egyptian Mummy belonging to 322-30 B.C, pottery etc.
Lvory– Interesting collection of Ivory statues such as Lady with a bird, Lady with a mirror, Man with a lotus, Cylindrical Medicine Box, Lor Shiva Statue, Dancing Lady and so on.
Jewellery– Showcases a collection of jewellery of the Royal family, elite class as well as peasants. There is a collection of expensive and inexpensive jewellery such as waist belts, rings, ear rings, bracelets, ear studs, foot ornaments etc.
Furniture & Wooden Art– Special furniture with wood carving from Kashmir and Jaipur. There are other wooden artifacts including door, almirah, drummer, elephant with mahawat, boar box etc
Coins– Coins belonging to different centuries such as 3rd century, 4th century, 11th century etc. Spot Mughal coins, Punch Marked Coin, Indian States Coin, Delhi Sultanate Coin, British India Coin- Gupta Dynasty coin etc.
Musical Instruments– The collection of antique Indian musical instruments such as Ravan Hatha, Chouteau, Karana, Masak,Bankia, Shehanai, Rabab can be spotted here.
Garments & Textiles– Spot different kinds of textiles and garments including Old Sanganeri prints, Kotadoria, Bandhish work, Gota work, embroidery, lace and so on.
Carpet– This gallery has an amazing collection of different kinds of carpets such as Circular carpet, Circular carpet with Mughal pattern, Old woolen carpet, Prayer mat with rectangular design, a small doormat and more.
Miscellaneous– This gallery is mizh-mash of everything and showcases several things such as Lacquered Country Cart, Kanishka Coin, raditional Male Attire, Male Dancing figure, Carved Wooden Door etc.
Best Time to Visit
October to March
Timings
9.00 am to 5.00 pm & 7.00 pm to 10.00 pm (Daily)
Museum will remain closed on the following days.
| S.No. | Name of the holiday | Date | Day | |
| 1 | Maintenance Day | October to March Last Tuesday | Tuesday | |
| 2. | Dhulandi (Holi) | 06th March | Friday | |
| 3. | Maintenance Day | April to September Every Monday | Monday |
Entry Fees
Category – I General entry ticket
| Visitor / Student | |
| Indian visitor | Rs – 40 / – each |
| Indian student | Rs – 20 /- each |
| Overseas visitor | Rs – 300 /- each |
| Overseas student | Rs – 150 /- each |
The above tickets are available only at the premises.
Category – II Composite entry ticket
This ticket is valid for two days for visiting all or any of the following sites:-Amber Fort, Albert Hall, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar (Observatory), Nahargarh Fort, vidyadhar garden, Sisodia Rani garden & Isarlat (Sargasooli)
| Visitor / Student | |
| Indian visitor | Rs – 300 / – each |
| Indian student | Rs – 40 /- each |
| Overseas visitor | Rs – 1000 /- each |
| Overseas student | Rs – 200/- each |
Composite entry tickets are available only at the premises of Amber Fort, Albert Hall, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar (Observatory).
Category – III Night visit entry ticket (7.00 to 10.00 PM)
| Visitor / Student | |
| Indian visitor | Rs – 100 / – each |
| Indian student | Rs – 100 /- each |
| Overseas visitor | Rs – 100 /- each |
| Overseas student | Rs – 100/- each |
- Free entry for Children below 7 years.
- Entry for Student groups shall be free every day between 10.00 to 12.00 am on the recommendation of their respective Institute.
Entry of all visitors is free on the following days
- Rajasthan Day – 30 March
- World Heritage Day – 18 April
- World Museum Day – 18 May
- World Tourism Day – 27 September
The Audio Guide is priced at Rs. 171/- for foreign visitors and Rs. 114/- for domestic visitors.
Facilities
| Parking | |
| Ample parking space within Museum premises has been made available for visitors. The Parking facility is available at a nominal fee. | |
| for 4 wheeled vehicles | Rs. 10/- |
| for 2 wheeled vehicles | Rs. 5/- |
Parking for tourist buses is provided for just outside Ram Niwas Garden complex, 500 mts from the Museum
| Facilities for Differently – Abled : |
| At Albert Hall Museum special care has been taken to cater to needs of differently abled visitors. Provision for wheelchair and ramps at strategic spots has been made to facilitate movement.
The wheelchair may be collected at the front entrance of the museum and personnel are available at all times for any kind of assistance. |
How to Reach
By Air – Delhi and Mumbai are the two main gateway cities to Rajasthan from international destinations. There are regular flights connecting Delhi and Mumbai to Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan and also important destinations like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai operated by domestic carriers.
By Rail – Daily super fast train connects Mumbai to Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Kota. Delhi (the nearest rail head to Jaipur) is also directly connected to Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur, Kota, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Shatabdi train operates from New Delhi station to Ajmer via Jaipur. Double decker train is also available between Jaipur and Delhi.
By Road – The Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Kashmiri Gate, New Delhi has almost a twenty – four hour bus service to Jaipur. Air-conditioned and Volvo bus service of state owned Rajasthan state Roadways Transport Corporation (RSRTC) to Jaipur is operational from the premises of Bikaner House, Pandara Road © 011-23383469, journey time about 5 hours.
Delhi is connected to Jaipur via Darukhera, Behror, Kotputli and Shahpura on NH 8. Jaipur is further linked to Mumbai via Ajmer, Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Vadodara on NH 8. RSRTC also connects major destinations in Rajasthan through express and deluxe buses from Jaipur.
The Albert Hall is centrally located at the heart of city “Ram Nivas Garden” Jaipur.
Administrative Structure
| Director, Department of Archaeology and Museums
Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur,Rajasthan, India. Telephone 0141-5190400 Fax :0141-2565124 |
Deputy Director
0141-5190406 |
| Superintendent : Government Central Museum, Albert Hall, Jaipur Albert Hall, Ram Niwas Garden, Jaipur, |
Store Office
0141-5190429 |
| Booking Office
0141-5190430 |
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