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The Peshawar
Museum (Urdu: پشاور
میوزیم(colloquial);
پشاور
عجائب
گھر (official))
is
a museum located
in Peshawar,
capital
of Pakistan’s Khyber
pakhtunkhwa
province.
The
Peshawar
Museum
is
notable
for
its
collection
of
Buddhist
artwork
dating
from
the
ancient Ghandhara Empire.
The
Peshawar
Museum
was
founded
in
1907
as
"Victoria
Hall,"
in
memory
of
Queen
Victoria.
The
two-story
building
was
built
in
a
syncretic
architectural
style
consisting
of
British,
Hindu,
Buddhist
and
Mughal
Islamic
styles.
The
museum
initially
had
only
one
exhibition
hall,
but
two
more
were
added
in
1969–70.
In
2004–05,
the
museum
was
further
expanded
with
the
construction
of
a
new
block
with
two
galleries,
two
halls
for
the
museum's
collection
in
storage,
offices
for
the
provincial
directorate
of
archaeology,
a
conservation
laboratory
and
a
cafeteria.
The
historic
exhibition
hall
was
also
renovated
at
that
time.
The
current
collection
has
almost
14,000
items
based
on
Gandhara,
Greco-Buddhist,
Kushan,
Parthian,
and
Indo-Scythian
life.
Examples
include
art,
sculptures,
coins,
manuscripts,
statues,
ancient
books,
early
versions
of
the
Quran,
weapons,
dresses,
jewelry,
Kalash
effigies,
inscriptions,
paintings
of
the
Mughal
and
later
periods,
household
materials
and
pottery,
as
well
as
local
and
Persian
handicrafts.
Gandhara
and
Greco-Buddhist
Art Edit
Peshawar
Museum
has
one
of
the
largest
and
most
extensive
collections
of
Gandhara
art
of
the
Buddhist
period
and
is
considered
to
be
one
of
the
biggest
collections
of
Buddhist
objects
in
the
world.
The
museum
also
contains
the
largest
collection
on
Gautama
Buddha.
Buddhist
stone
sculptures,
terracotta
figurines,
and
other
Buddhist
objects.
The
display
of
Gandhara
art
in
the
main
hall
includes
Buddha's
life
stories,
miracles,
worship
of
symbols,
relic
caskets,
and
individual
standing
Buddha
sculptures.
The
ethnological
objects
of
that
period
are
also
exhibited
in
the
museum.
Numismatics Edit
The
Peshawar
Museum
has
8,625
coins,
4,510
of
which
are
pre-Islamic.
The
main
interest
of
the
museum's
numismatic
collection
is
that
the
coins
were
recovered
from
archaeological
sites,
including:
Shah-Ji-Ki-Dheri,
Shari
Bahlol,
Takht-i-Bahi
and
Jamal
Garhi.
The
collections
of
Bactrian
Greek,
Indo-Greek,
Indo-Scythian,
Indo-Parthian
and
Kushan
coins
have
been
published.
Mughal
and
Persian
Islamic
Art Edit
This
gallery
exhibits
wooden
facades
of
mosques,
ancient
Arabic
and
Persian
inscriptions,
fine
Multani
tiles
and
ceramics,
and
the
dresses
and
weapons
of
Syed
Ahmad
Shaheed
Barailvi
and
numerous
ancient
leaders.
Some
of
the
best
works
are
the
Mughal
Islamic
metal
artifacts
in
bronze
and
silver,
the
calligraphic
specimens
and
scrolls
that
date
as
far
back
as
1224.
Middle
Age
and
British
Rule
to
Present Edit
This
gallery
mainly
consists
of
items
displaying
the
culture
and
life
of
the
major
tribes
of
the
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
province,
and
the
Kalasha
Desh
located
in
the
far
north
of
the
province,
where
a
small
tribe
of
animists
called
the
Kalash
live.
The
museum
exhibits
cultural
items
of
the
Kailash
Valley.
Exhibits
also
include
swords,
daggers,
spears,
long
bows,
recurve
bows,
arrows,
shields,
muzzle-loading
guns,
revolvers,
pistols
and
gunpowder
boxes.
