The Watson Museum, considered to be one of the best among the seven such museums located across Saurashtra (region) and managed by the Gujarat state Government, it has collections of precious objects from the princely State of Rajkot founded by the Jadeja Rajputs. It holds invaluable articles, artifacts, photographs, a reference library and the museum's publication are sold through a counter.

History

The museum is set up in the Queen Victoria memorial institute buildings located in

Jubilee Garden The Jubilee Garden is a large, open park big area in the center of Vadodara city, Gujarat, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most p ...

, Rajkot. The museum was named in fond memory of Colonel John Watson in 1888 who was a British political agent of

Kathiawar Agency The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British India. The agency's headquarters wer ...

from 1881 to 1889. Watson Museum is the second most important museum in Gujarat, after the Museum of Baroda and is the oldest museum in Saurashtra (region). Colonel Watson was fond of history and archaeology and used to collect information on Rajkot. Most of his collections and other artifacts are preserved here. The museum building was completed in 1893, and opened to the public by Governor Lord George Harris of Bombay Presidency. The Watson Museum exhibits copies of artifacts from

Mohenjodaro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Harappan civilization Harappa (; Urdu/ pnb, ) is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The Bronze Age Harappan civilisation, now more often called the Indus Valley Civilisation, is named after the site, which takes its name from a mod ...

in the archeology gallery, a treasure of sculptures belonging to erstwhile Ghumali - a capital of Jethwa - grace the sculpture gallery.

Sections

* Sculptures * Paintings and Manuscripts * Textile * Inscription * Coins Gets Rare Coins
, Retrieved on 11 January 2008 * Anthropology * Folk Embroidery * Handicraft * Musical Instruments * Wood Work * Natural History * Rocks and Minerals

Annual events

# Bhartiya Shilp Samruddhi : It is week-long celebration organized every year in the second week of January.

References

{{clear Rajkot Museums in Gujarat Art museums and galleries in India Museums established in 1893 1893 establishments in India Decorative arts museums in India Buildings and structures in Rajkot Tourist attractions in Rajkot district