Context:
Recently, Government announced that the National Museum (India’s first museum built post-independence) will be demolished and the collection shifted to the Secretariat.
Major Artefacts in the Museum:
‘Dancing Girl’ from Mohenjo-daro:
- Discovered in 1926 by British archaeologist Ernest McKay
- Made of bronze and was sculpted using the lost wax technique.
Relics of the Buddha:
- Relics are sacred objects associated with holy individuals that may be literal body parts (teeth, hair, bones) or objects used or touched.
- Buddha attained salvation in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district.
- His relics from the funeral pyre were collected and divided into 8 shares to be distributed among –
- Ajathsatrus of Magadha
- Licchavis of Vaishali
- Sakyas of Kapilavastu
- Mallas of Kushinagar
- Bullies of Allakappa
- Mallas of Pava
- Koliyas of Ramagrama
- Brahmana of Vethadipa
- Displayed here – 20 (out of 22) bone fragments discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
- Other 2 pieces displayed at the National Museum in Kolkata.
Wall Frescos:
- What is True fresco method?
- Paintings are done when the surface wall is still wet
- Pigments go deep inside the wall surface.
- Example – Rajarajeshwara temple at Tanjore
- What is Tempora method?
- It is a method of painting on the lime plastered surface which has been allowed to dry first and then drenched with fresh lime water.
- On the surface, thus obtained, the artist proceeded to sketch in water colours.
Silk hangings from the Dunhuang desert caves in China:
- Other Names: Mogao Caves, Thousand-Buddha Caves
- Location – Dunhuang oasis (Gansu, China)
- Mogao Grottoes: Witness to the civilizations of ancient China during the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties
- An UNESCO World Heritage Site
Major exhibitions include:
- Shah Jahan’s Padshahnama (Book of Emperors): a manuscript containing some of the finest Mughal miniatures from Windsor Castle
- Picasso exhibition from France
- Naman Ahuja’s landmark show (The Body in Indian Art)
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following pairs:
Site of Ashoka’s major rock edicts: Location in the State of
1. Dhauli — Odisha
2. Erragudi — Andhra Pradesh
3. Jaugada — Madhya Pradesh
4. Kalsi — Karnataka
How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2022 Prelims]
(a) Only one pair
(b) Only two pairs
(c) Only three pairs
(d) All four pairs
Answer: (b)
