Description:
Owing to the good patronage of the Maratha King Sayajirao Gaekwad - III, Baroda has many artifacts to offer and take a look at. The most important of them is the Baroda Museum, another royal initiative of the Maharaja. The buildings were specifically built with purpose of Museum in mind and not only the museum but also the buildings are considered one of the finest in India. It has an extensive collection of European paintings(originals and reproductions of masters), rare manuscripts and miniature paintings, South Indian narrative paintings, Tibetan Buddhist artifacts, historic inscriptions, architectural fragments of old temples, folk art, utensils and costumes of various tribes, and also an Egyptian mummy, bones of a whale and eggs of dinosaur. The picture art gallery consists of portraits and out-standing exhibits of European old masters, Verne, Giordano, some Flemish and Dutch school paintings and Mughal miniatures on palm leaves. The museum and the picture gallery are two separate two-storied buildings built in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The artifacts were collected by the king personally and had them exhibited, so as his masses would benefit from them.
The Fateh Singh Museum inside the Lakshmi Vilas Palace also has the royal collection of art treasures and works of old masters like Raphael, Titian and Murillo as well as modern western and Indian paintings, Graeco-Roman exhibits, Chinese and Japanese art, and a large collection of contemporary Indian art.
