Government Museum

The Government Museum located on the Pantheon Rd, between Egmore and Anna Salai houses one of the finest collections of paintings, sculptures, arms, rare coins, vintage stamps, as well as a variety of antiques, and musical instruments. Established in 1857, the museum has several sections devoted to geology, archeology, anthropology, numismatics, botany, zoology and sculpture. In addition, the museum also has an Art Gallery, the Department of Natural History, a Museum Theatre, the Connemara Public Library and a Children Museum. The archaeological section showcases artifacts from all the major south Indian periods including Chola, Vijayanagar, Hoysala and Chalukya.

It also houses a good ethnology and Numismatic (coin) collection. The bronze gallery has a superb collection of Chola art. The bronze image of Ardhanariswara, the androgynous incarnation of Shiva as well as the Jain and Buddhist carvings are the most impressive. The relics from the 2nd century AD Buddhist site 'Amaravati' and from prehistoric South India are the most prized possessions of the museum. The Museum also conducts various educational activities such as seminar, workshop, exhibition and training programmes besides providing various facilities to researchers and students.