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The Colombo National Museum, also known as the Sri Lanka National Museum, is a museum in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
and the largest in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1877 and maintained by the Department of National Museums, it holds collections of significant importance to Sri Lanka, such as the
regalia Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereig ...
of the Kandyan monarchs, as well as many other exhibits relating the country's cultural and natural heritage.


History

The
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
Museum, as it was initially called, was established on 1 January 1877. Its founder was Sir William Henry Gregory the British
Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonialism, colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of ...
. The
Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
was instrumental in bringing to the notice of Gregory on his appointment as governor in 1872 the need for a public museum, with some difficulty the approval of the legislative council was obtained within a year. The Government architect of the Public Works Department, James George Smither (1833–1910) was able to prepare the plans for a new structure in the Italian Architectural style. The construction was completed in 1876 and the museum opened the following year. The construction of the museum was carried out by Arasi Marikar Wapchie Marikar (1829–1925, aka Wapchi Marikar, who was descended from the Sheiq Fareed family who arrived in Ceylon in 1060), the paternal grandfather of Sir
Razik Fareed Raziq or Razik may refer to: People with the given name *Raziq Faani (1947–2007), Afghan poet * Razik Fareed (1893–1984), Sri Lankan politician, diplomat and philanthropist *Raziq Khan (born 1979), an Emirati international cricketer People wi ...
. Wapchi Marikar was the builder of the General Post Office, Colombo Customs building, Town Hall in Pettah, Galle Face Hotel, Victoria Arcade, Finlay Moir building, the Colombo Fort clock tower, Batternburg Battery and a number of other buildings that are still standing today (2011). The Old Town Hall in Pettah, which is now a busy market, was built on a contract for the sum of 689 Pounds Sterling. In January 1877, the completed building of the Colombo Museum was declared open by Governor Gregory, in the presence of a large crowd, amongst which there were many Muslims. At the end of the ceremony, the governor asked Wapchi Marikar what honour he wished to have for his dedication. He asked the same question of the carpenter S. M. Perera who was responsible for the woodwork of the museum, who requested and was awarded a local rank. Marikar requested that the museum be closed on Fridays, the Muslim sabbath; this request was granted and maintained, although the museum later opened on all days except public holidays. When the throne of the last Kandyan king was to be exhibited at the museum, the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
,
D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Mi ...
, obtained the consent of Sir Razik Fareed, Wapchi Marikar's grandson, to keep the museum open on the intervening Fridays only. During the period between 1877 and 1999, the authorities of the museum took various steps to display the cultural and natural heritage of the country for this purpose. Several other wings were added from time to time under the direction of Dr. Arthur Willey and Dr. Joseph Pearson new structures were built during the period of Dr. P. E. P. Deraniyagala, Dr. P. H. D. H. de Silva and Sirinimal Lakdusinghe. One of the natural history museum, and yet another consists of the auditorium. These buildings would facilitate the extension of the library ethnological and Anthropological studies.


Developments after 1940

The museum was given the status of a national museum during the period of P. E. P. Deraniyagala. He opened branch museums in
Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...
,
Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
, and
Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located o ...
and a fully-fledged department of national museum was established in 1942 under the act No. 31. Nine branch museums were ultimately opened, and a school science programme and a mobile museum service are also in operation. The museum has a copy of the Statue of Tara, a three-quarter life size statue of Tara currently held in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.The female as Cult Object in Buddhism
Digital Library, retrieved 10 December 2013
The crown jewels and the throne of the last
King of Kandy The Kandyan monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Kandy on the island of Sri Lanka from 1469 to 1815. The Kingdom was first established by Senasammata Vikramabahu, a royal from the Kingdom of Kotte, when he led the secession of the Kande uda pas rata ( ...
, which were returned to Sri Lanka by the British Government, were added to the museum collection. Ground floor galleries are arranged in historical sequence, and upper galleries thematically. A library was also established on 1 January 1877. The government Oriental library (1870) was incorporated into Colombo National Museum library, and served as the nucleus of the library collection by collecting the local publications of the past 129 years; the library has been functioning as an unofficial national library in Sri Lanka, and became the first legal deposit library in the island. From its inception, special attention was given to building up of a collection related to Sri Lanka, Orientation and Natural Science. In 1982 Dr. Thelma Gunawardena became the first woman director of the National Museum of Colombo. She served from 1982 through 1994. From 1972 to 1991, Prof. Pandula Andagama was the assistant director of the Department of Anthropology in the museum, and the assistant director of the National Museum. In his tenure, he established an anthropological deposit in the National Museum. He also organized many temporary exhibitions in the National Museum.


National Museum Library

The Colombo National Museum Library was also established on 1 January 1877 incorporating the Government Oriental Library that had been established in 1870. Since 1885, by law, a copy of every document printed in the country is required to be lodged with the museum library.


See also

*
Galle Trilingual Inscription The Galle Trilingual Inscription is a stone tablet with an inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, located in Galle, Sri Lanka. The stone tablet, dated 15 February 1409, was installed by the Chinese admiral Zheng He in Gal ...


References


External links


Sri Lanka National Museum website
{{authority control 1877 establishments in Ceylon British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka Museums established in 1877 Museums in Colombo National museums of Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Colombo District History museums in Sri Lanka