Napier Museum - Oldest Museum in Kerala

Napier Museum, also called Government Arts Museum lies close to the zoological park in the middle of the city. It was built in 1855 by the Maharaja of Travancore in Indo-Saracenic structure, which is considered to be one of the earliest in Kerala. As the old building was not enough to display many more objects collected, it was pulled down and the present structure was built and opened to the public in 1880 by Ayilyam Thirunal Maharaja. Its objective was to offer encouragement in arts and crafts by the exhibition of specimens of interest in natural history and products of indigenous and foreign. In 1872, lord Napier sent Robert Fellowes Chisholm, an architect in the Government of Madras to Travancore to design a museum. He found himself in the incongruous position of having to instruct the erudite Travancore elite on how best to foster and extend their own art.

In a few months of time, Chisholm thoroughly acquainted himself with all that had been done in the architectural way, both by Europeans and natives. In 1880 the new building designed by Chisholm and named after lord Napier was occupied. Three big halls connected by long corridors of panes and artistically painted walls in and out constitute the main scheme of the building. Walking past the corridors of the museum will give one the ancient delight. It offers a range of displays of artistic, cultural and antique objects. The bronze display includes fascinating images of Shiva, Vishnu, Parvati and Lakshmi in ‘Shilpa shastras’. The metal images illustrate the features of South Indian sculpture style of the 8th to 18th century. It is located in the midst of zoological gardens, which acts as a natural air conditioner.