Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Victoria Memorial Hall/ History of Indian architecture/ Houses a museum of British India


Victoria Memorial is lone of the famous and beautiful monuments of Kolkata. It was built linking 1906 and 1921 to observe Queen Victoria's 25-year reign in India. After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the British government gathered the reins of control of the people frankly, and in 1876 the British parliament made Victoria the Empress of India. Her reign ended with her death in 1901.


The Victoria Memorial is maybe the generally awe-inspiring reminder of the Raj to be found in India. This enormous white-marble museum, made from Makrana marbles from Rajasthan, is to the top with a vast collection of bits and pieces from the cycle of British Empire imperative in India. The forms in the museum like the splendid auditorium, clustered with four subsidiary, octagonal domed chattris, the distinguished portals, the veranda and the domed corner towers converse in of a splendid richness in architecture. The Memorial is situated on 64 acres of ground with the building casing 338 ft by 228 ft.

Noble Curzon, who was at that time the Viceroy of India, placed the question of setting up a 'stately' monument pro Queen Victoria, on her death in January 1901 to the broadcast. The princes and public of India responded generously to his appeal pro funds and noble Curzon derived the whole cost of construction of this tombstone amounting to lone crore, five lakhs of rupees (Rs. 1,05,00,000) from their voluntary subscriptions. The Prince of Wales, sovereign George V, laid the foundation marble on January 4, 1906 and it was formally opened to the broadcast in 1921.

The Victoria Memorial is a signpost in the history of Indian architecture and the confidence pro with the intention of justly goes to noble Curzon who chose personnel like Sir William Emerson, President of the British Institute of Architects, to design and preparation the building and commend the construction bring about to the very famous Messrs. Martin & Co. Of Calcutta.

This overbearing organize presently houses a museum of British India memorabilia like a generous collection of smear with oil paintings and fill up colours by famous European artists like Charles D'oyly, Johann Zoffany, William Hadges, William Simpson, Tilly Kettle, Thomas Hickey, Bultzar Solvyns, Thomas Hickey, Emily Eden and others. Besides these, the Memorial furthermore houses the leading collection in the planet of the paintings by the Daniells.

The Royal Gallery is a storehouse of smear with oil paintings of Queen Victoria receiving the hair shirt by her coronation in the Westminster Abbey in June 1838; her wedding ceremony with Prince Albert (1840), the launch of the Prince of Wales, the wedding ceremony of the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) with Princess Alexandra and others.

The Memorial's grandeur by a height of 200 feet (184 ft up to the corrupt of the map of Victory, which is again 16 ft high) is accentuated by the serenity with the intention of engulfs you in its corridors. The groups of facts higher than the north overhang speak for Motherhood, forethought and Learning. Surrounding the foremost auditorium are facts of knack, Architecture, Justice, Charity and that.

The vastness and splendour of Victoria Memorial can be comprehended from the detail with the intention of it has been on bad terms into uncommon divisions like the backyard, store and others pro maintenance and furthermore houses a host of valuable articles like the bread knife of Tipu Sultan, a cannon used in the battle of Plassey, rare books with the intention of appointment back to 1870, valuable manuscripts like the Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazal, rare postage stamps and Western paintings to beguile the visitors to this awe-inspiring tombstone.
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