Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad

While Hyderabad is well knowm for the Charminar and the glory of the Nizam's, a closer look at another landmark associated with the Nizam's, the Salarjung Museum, reveals a small connection with China. Among the many galleries, the Chinese Collection has some exquisite objects that would find a place of glory in China and Taiwan too.

The webpage describes the Chinese Collection as follows: "The remarkable Chinese collection of this museum datable from 12th to 19th centuries represents possibly the most comprehensive range of export wares and enables us to compare and rank with the Chinese porcelain collection of world repute like the Topkapi Saranji Museum at Istanbul in Turkey and the Aradebil collection at Teheran. The earliest porcelain ware that reached the outside world was undoubtedly the “Celadon”, a ware with a typical grey green glaze. This ware was said to be having several mysterious qualities. The snuff bottles form an outstanding group. In the making of these bottles, especially the interior painted ones, the Chinese baffled the entire world. The objects on display in this medium include lacquered and inlaid screens, lacquered boxes, snuff bottles, vases and furniture. The collection of Chinese ivory in the museum is very interesting for its intricacy and skilful carving. Mostly it comprises figures, a few elaborately carved tasks and lacquered ivory figures that are datable to 18th to 19th centuries."

The focus on jade, ceramics along with scrolls and paintings in this collection is similar to the emphasis laid in the National Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.

Without much further ado, below are some photos of the collection in the Salarjung Museum taken during a visit in June 2019.