Salar Jung Museum is a one-man collection of art. It was established in the year 1951. It is maintained by the Salar Jung Family. The family is one of the most illustrious families in Deccan history, five of them having been prime ministers in the erstwhile Nizam rule of Hyderabad-Deccan.
All the artifacts and art were collected by Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, more popularly known as Salar Jung III. After his death, the entire collection was left behind without an inheritor. It was the family members of the late Nawab who got together to gift the fabulous collection to the nation as there could not have been a better proposal.
Salar Jung Museum is considered the third largest museum in India. It was inaugurated by the First Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. In the year of 1968, the entire collection of the museum and the library was shifted to the present building from Diwan Deodi.
The present building is spread over 10 acres of land and consists of 2 floors. It comprises 3 buildings namely, Eastern Block (Mir Laiq Ali Khan Bhavan), Western Block (Mir Turab Ali Khan Bhavan), and the Indian/Central Block. There are 38 galleries in these 3 buildings altogether. 27 galleries are present in the Indian/Central Block, 7 galleries in the Western Block and Eastern Block houses 4 galleries.
The museum has a rare collection of around 43000 art objects, 9000 manuscripts, and 47000 printed books. The collection consists of one of the most famous clocks that is a 19th Century British Musical Clock. This clock was sold by Cooke and Kelvey of England. Another attraction is the Veiled Rebecca, marble statue which was created by an Italian sculptor G B Benzoni in 1876.
Salar Jung Museum Clock Show Timing:
One of the main attractions of the museum is the British Bracket Clock. Inside the clock, there’s a special thing that makes a little toy man with a beard come out 3 minutes before each hour. When it’s exactly the 60th minute, he hits a bell to match the time and then goes back inside (eg. 10 times at 10′ o clock). This clock is really cool and a lot of people come to the museum every day just to watch the toy man hit the gong at each hour.
Salar Jung Museum is located on the southern bank of the river Musi of Hyderabad, Salar Jung Museum is situated on Salar Jung Road, at Dar-ul-Shifa. It stands near the Minar Function Hall, which does act as a landmark.
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