The museum of the Taj Mahal | Taj Mahal

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The museum of the Taj Mahal

The museum of the Taj Mahal
Museum of the Taj Mahal is the collection of all unbelievable antiquities of the Mughal time. The Taj Mahal complex is surrounded by red sandstone walls except for the side facing the river. These walls are interspersed with domed kiosks or chattris. There are small buildings as well that may have been viewing areas or watch towers like the Music House. This area is one of the places that is now used as a museum.

Location

The museum is located at the ground floor of the western Naubat Khana within the Taj Mahal complex. The museum is also known as the Jal Mahal and it is a two-story building built on a raised platform with a quadrangle projection outside. The Jal Mahal museum was established in 1982.

The Museum

The Jal Mahal museum is comprised of a main gallery with three other galleries displaying various exhibits related to the construction of the Taj Mahal and the period of its builders. There are various antiquities on display categorized as manuscripts, government decrees, Mughal miniature paintings, specimen of calligraphy, utensils, plans and drawings of the Taj Mahal complex, paintings, arms, specimen inlay work, marble pillars etc. A total of 121 of these antiquities are on display.

The Main Hall

The main hall of the museum displays paintings of Shah Jahan and his most favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal on ivory encased in an ornamental wooden frame. Paintings from the Persian epic Shahnama of Firdausi and other exhibits such as replicas of coins minted in Akbarabad, Agra and a manuscript of Chaihl Majlis which dates back to 1612 A.D. bearing the signature of Shah Jahan under the royal seal dated February 4th 1628 are also on display here.

The First Gallery

The first gallery has plans and drawings of the salient features of the Taj Mahal's architecture. The gallery also has copies of Shah Jahan's farmans dated August 1632 addressed to Raja Jai Singh and another farman dated June 20, 1637 addressed to Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur to ensure regular supply of the makrana marble and other materials required in the construction of the Taj Mahal.

The Second Gallery

The second gallery has jade and porcelain objects on display. These include a Quaran stand carved from Jade, a beautiful ornamented spouted vase or lota carved from jade, a mirror mounted on stone, and Celadon ware dishes. Also on display are weapons such as swords and daggers, and a world map showing the places where the stones for use as inlays on the Taj Mahal were imported. Specimens of these semiprecious stones are also on display.

The Third Gallery

The third gallery has exhibits of important royal farmans of Shah Jahan such as one registering a grant of land in various villages and another confirming a grant of hereditary land to Shaikh Hatim, and other documents such as an order from General Perron during the period of Shah Alam II recording the details of the auction of fruits in the garden of the mausoleum of Taj Ganj. Also on display are a specimen of a famous calligraphy of the period as well as two paintings of the Taj Mahal by the British artist Daniel painted in 1795 A.D.