Places of interest in and around - Thiruvananthapuram

Napier Museum

The Napier Museum was built in 19th century. It was opened to the public by a committee, in which the maharaja of Travancore Sree Utram Thirunal was the director and the resident of Travancore General Kallan was the Chariman. At the starting time it has a few collections of metals from all over the world, some books of General Kallan.

A new building was built in 1880 by the supervision of an architect named Mr. Chishome. The building was inaugurated by Mr. Napier, the Governor of Madras and so the museum was called as Napier Museum. Now it has a vast collection of archaeological and historic artifacts, plastic casts, bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a temple chariot and ivory carvings.

This museum will interest you if you are an avid lover of antiques with an eye for elegance and aesthetics. For, each of the collection of 400 bronze deities on display has some specialty or the other. There is a 9th century Lord Vishnu with crystal eyes, a wooden sculpture of Narasimha, Kerala woodcarvings, 14th century Vijayanagar bronze deities and lots of intricate ivory work and filigree work jewelry. The architectural style is basically the Indo-Saracenic style known for its beautiful stained-glass windows.

Open daily from 9 am to 5 pm and on Wednesdays from 1 pm to 5 pm. The museum is closed on Mondays.