The Salar Jung Museum

Who was Salar Jung?
Salar Jung was a prime minister to the Nizam (king) of Hyderabad. He was a nobleman who owned lots of land, and collected lots of taxes. He was a very good friend of the British colonial rulers. Together they ruled Hyderabad and its surroundings. Salar Jung loved collecting art and artefacts from all over the world. The Salar Jung museum displays all his possessions. In the museum there are photos of him near the pyramids of Egypt. He was also a member of the British Masons. He was awarded a medal by Queen Victoria of England, and was given the title of His Exalted Highness.

What did he collect?
His enormous 35,000 piece antique collection includes: pure gold-rimmed wine glasses, English tea sets, silver cutlery, European furniture, Venetian glass chandeliers, European paintings, a vast collection of clocks and many other European things which filled his palaces. He also had a wide collection of Asian arts including: mogul miniature paintings, old brass and stone sculptures, carved South Indian furniture, Chinese and Japanese carvings in ivory, wooden toy soldiers, weapons, daggers and several types of carriages.

What I saw in the Ivory Room
It was sad seeing a whole set of chairs made from ivory, which was a gift from King Louis the XVI of France. There were boxes with very intricate carvings, and beautiful figurines from Japan. I also saw three statues of Jesus on the cross. It was very surprising to see a mat woven with thin strips of ivory. Outside there was a whole carriage made of ivory!

Salar Jung’s Swords and Daggers
Salar Jung’s ceremonial swords and daggers were displayed in the Jade Room. There was a sword with a jade handle covered in diamonds, and another encrusted with rubies and emeralds.
There were also cutlery sets with jade and agate handles.

The Clock collection
The Kings and the Queens of Europe loved collecting clocks, and so did Salar Jung. Salar Jung had so many clocks you need one whole massive room to display them all. There were at least five or more large grandfather clocks in the room, and also three different cukoo clocks displayed. Some of the more interesting clocks showed the day, date, month as well as the time.

My favourite part of the museum was the seeing the furniture of England and France from the 18th century and the palanquins that carried the Royal families around.

It took us one whole day to see just half of Salar Jung’s enormous collection.