Salar Jung Museum Timings, Ticket Price

Salar Jung museum entry fee is 20 rupees per head.

Salar Jung Museum Ticket Price is 20 rupees per head.

Salar Jung Museum Ticket Price:

Salar Jung museum entry fee is 20 rupees per head.

Salar Jung Museum is an art museum which is tagged as the third largest museum in India. It is located on the southern bank of the Musi River in the city of Hyderabad at Dar-ul-Shifa. Initially, this museum was a private art collection that was owned by the art connoisseur Mir Yousuf Ali Khan also known as Salar Jung III. After the death of Salar Jung III, the museum was donated to the Government of India by his heirs and was opened to the public on 16 December 1951 by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The museum is spread across an area of 10 acres and built-in two floors that houses a collection of ancient manuscripts, ceramics, metallic artifacts, carpets, sculptures, textiles, paintings and clocks from different parts of the world that include China, Japan, Burma, Persia, Europe, Egypt and North America.

History

During the Nizam’s rule, a nobleman of the Salar Jung family,  Nawab Salar Jung III, served as the prime minister of Hyderabad. He spent a good amount of his income collecting artefacts from all across the world belonging to different civilizations over a period of 35 years. After his death, the collections that were left behind in his ancestral palace, Diwan Devdi. It is said that the present collection is only half of the original collection of Salar Jung III. The idea of museum creation was given by the then Chief Civil Administrator of the Hyderabad State, Sri M.K. Velodi and a renowned art critic, Dr. James Cousins. The museum was shifted to its present location at Afzalgunj from Diwan Devdi in the year 1968. Two more buildings were added to the museum compound at the turn of the twentieth millennium.

Architecture

With an imposing white structure, Salar Jung Museum is semicircular shaped which showcases decades of regality and richness. This magnificent building with two floors is further divided into 38 galleries and each gallery in the museum exhibits artifacts that are under separate subjects. The museum comprises of three buildings – Indian/ Central Block with 27 galleries; Western Block (Mir Turab Ali Khan Bhavan) with 7 galleries and Eastern Block (Mir Laiq Ali Khan Bhavan) with 4 galleries. An impressive number of around 13,654 objects are being displayed in all the 38 galleries. One of the galleries is dedicated to showcase the Salar Jung family. Inside the monument, there are many sections such as Education Wing, Photo section, Chemical Conservation Laboratory, a display section, reading room, reception center and a sales counter.

Collections

Salar Jung Museum promises a rich experience to all its visitors with a humungous collection of close to 43000 art objects, 9000 manuscripts and 47000 printed books. The collections at the museum are divided into different sections like Indian art, European art, Middle-East art, Far-Eastern art and so on. Collection are from varied cultures ranging from Greek to Buddhist. The biggest attraction at the museum is the 19th Century British Musical Clock with more than 350 parts that was sold by Cooke and Kelvey of England. Another highlight that attracts most of the attention is the marble statue, Veiled Rebecca which was created by an Italian sculptor G B Benzoni in 1876. A few of the extensive collection also includes Rehal, the jade books stand, a fruit knife of Noorjehan, a dagger of Jehangir, Arabic and Persian Manuscripts, a valuable medical encyclopedia, Manuscript on mathematics by Lilawati and other rare paintings.

Along with the enviable collection, the Salar Jung museum collaborates with International museums and organizations to organize various workshops and exhibitions. These seminars and workshops are held on specific days such as the birth anniversary of Salar Jung I, Museum Week, Children’s Week, etc. The museum also publishes books such as guide books, research journals and brochures in Hindi, Urdu and English languages which help in understanding the history behind the museum. All these things together make Salar Jung Museum an outstanding tourist site for history buffs and is one of the most highly visited places in Hyderabad.

Salar Jung museum is open all days of the week except for Friday and the timings of the museum are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Other notable places near to the museum are Mecca Masjid, Charminar, State Central Library and High Court. The nearest metro station is Salar Jung Museum metro station which is at a distance of 1 km from the museum.

Entry Fee:

• Salar Jung museum entry fee Rs.20/- for Indians.
• Salar Jung museum entry fee Rs.500/- for Foreign Visitors.
• Free for Students with ID Cards (up to 18 Yrs) and 50% Concession for defence personnel in uniform & organized Kisan parties.
• Rs. 50/- for Still Camera.