Crafts
Museum of Delhi, established in the year 1956, is situated in Pragati
Maidan area. The museum is famous for showcasing the rich tribal and
rural handicrafts of artisans from all over the country. It houses a
large permanent collection of 20,000 items of folk and tribal arts,
crafts and textiles. A unique feature of the Delhi Crafts Museum is that
craftsmen from all over India come here to display their skill and
proficiency. You can find some of the rarest and the most exquisite
pieces of art and craft collected from different areas. Also exhibited
in the Crafts Museum of Delhi are architectural displays of various
villages. There are a number of galleries in the Crafts Museum, namely, Tribal and Rural Craft Gallery, Gallery of Courtly Crafts, Textile Gallery, Gallery of Popular Culture, and so on, each based on a particular theme. The museum also consists of mud huts, adorned with exquisite folk art. The handicrafts on display include woodcarvings, paintings, papier-mâché, embroidery, etc. There is even a full-sized wooden haveli from Gujarat in the Delhi Crafts Museum. The reference section of the museum consists of 15,000 objects for the use of scholars, designers and craftsmen.
There is also a Crafts Museum Shop inside the museum that sells books, picture-postcards, along with a wide range of amazing contemporary handicrafts. The shop does not sell souvenir, rather, it is set up to sell the original creations of some of the best craftsmen of India. Another major attraction of the Delhi Crafts Museum is the artisans show then and there how they make their crafts. The various objects that you can buy there include ornaments, rugs, shawls, book, etc, which you can buy either from the museum or even directly from the craftsmen.
