Fort
St. George Museum, Chennai
Fort St. George Museum at Chennai houses a collection of portraits and
paintings of former governors of Chennai and the English royalty. Other
objects that are displayed at the museum are coins, weapons, porcelain,
the communion vessels of the church etc.
Government State Museum Chennai
The Government museum at Chennai has a collection of Amarvati
sculptures and the Bronze Gallery, besides other artifacts and articles.
The collection of Amaravati sculptors at the museum includes panels,
carved railings, pillars and Buddha statues of white marble from a
Buddhist stupa excavated at Amaravati. The bronze gallery has bronze
sculptures belonging to the later Pallavas, Cholas, Hoyasalas and
Chalukya periods.
Thanjavur Art Gallery, Tanjore
The present day Thanjavur art gallery was once the palace of the Nayaks
of Thanjavur and the viceroys of the Vijayanagara rulers. Built in 1600,
it is a wonderful and magnificent piece of architecture. The huge
compound encompasses a complex, which includes the Saraswati Library and
the Sangeetha Sabha or Music Hall along with the art gallery. The most
important attraction at the Thanjavur art gallery is the sculpture
section where south Indian stone sculptures belonging to the Pallava and
the Nayaka period are exhibited.
Madurai Government Museum
The Government Museum at Madurai is yet another repository of cultural
heritage of the state and the adjoining regions. The Museum has
different sections on anthropology, archaeology, zoology, numismatology,
geology and botany. The Museum also has a fine collection of bronze
artifacts.
Silappathikaram Art Gallery, Poompuhar
The Sillappathikaram Art Gallery is a beautiful building of great
sculptural value. The first storey of the art gallery is 12" high
and every subsequent storey above it has a height of 5'. Scenes from
Sillappathikaram, the great Epic, have been projected in stones on the
walls of the art Gallery. The sculptors of Mamallapuram Art College
carved the sculptures at the Sillappathikaram Art Gallery.
Government Museum, Ooty
The government museum at Ooty has a diverse collection of tribal
objects, Ooty's ecological details and numerous sculptural arts and
crafts of Tamil Nadu. This museum was set up in 1989, with the aim of
providing information to the local and visiting population of the
region.