The Patan Museum is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

located in Patan, Lalitpur,

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. The museum falls under the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The Patan Museum was inaugurated in 1997 by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah. The Patan Museum displays the traditional sacred arts of Nepal in an illustrious architectural setting. Its home is an old residential court of Patan Durbar, one of the royal palaces of former

Malla Kings Malla may refer to: Places ;Bolivia *Malla, Bolivia, a locality *Malla Jawira, a river * Malla Jaqhi, a mountain *Malla Municipality *Malla Qullu, a mountain ;India * Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu *Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the sixte ...

of the

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...

. The royal palace was built in 1734, on the site of a Buddhist monastery. The museum quadrangle is known as Keshav Narayan Chowk.

Present

Patan Durbar Square was heavily damaged by the earthquake in April 2015. Former International Artists in Residence include Nancy Condon, Jessica Melville-Brown, and Joy Lynn Davis. The current chairman of the Board of Directors is Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Singh Durbar, Kathmandu. The entrance fees are 1000

Nepalese rupee The Nepalese rupee ( ne, रुपैयाँ; symbol: रु; code: NPR) is the official currency of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The Nepalese rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paisa''. The issuance of the currency is controlled by t ...

s for foreign visitors, 250 for

SAARC The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...

visitors, 30 for Nepali visitors, and 15 for Nepalese students (with identification).

Collection

The Patan Museum's mission is "the interpretation of

Sacred Art Religious art is artistic imagery using religious inspiration and motifs and is often intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Sacred art involves the ritual and cultic practices and practical and operative aspects of the path of the spiritu ...

, Culture and

Iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

through preservation and exhibition." The museum's exhibits cover a long span of Nepal's cultural history. It has over 1,100 artifacts, about 200 of which are on permanent display. Most of the objects are cast bronzes (mostly sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist deities) and gilt copper repoussé work, traditional crafts for which Patan is famous.

Gallery

File:Indra, a Vedic God in Hinduism.jpg, alt=Indra, a Vedic God in Hinduism. Copper repoussé, gilt with semi-precious stones, 13th-14th century, in the Patan Museum.,

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

, a Vedic God in Hinduism. Copper repoussé, gilt with semi-precious stones, 13th-14th century, in the Patan Museum. File:14th century Lakshmi-Narayan Statue.jpg, Lakshmi-Narayan Statue, 14th century File:Adinatha - Patan Museum, Nepal.jpg,

Adinatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain ...

, Rajasthan, 16th century File:Dipankar, the Buddha of fixed light 01.jpg,

Dīpankara Buddha Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kappas ago. According to some Buddhist or folk tr ...

File:Patan Durbar Square (50).JPG, Four faced Shivalinga

Notes

References

External links