Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar

Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar is well known for its vast collection from the glorious past of Jammu and Kashmir. The history of the museum is also quite interesting, since, earlier it served as the summer palace of the Maharajas of Kashmir. Later, in the year 1898, it was converted to a museum. From that time, a huge part of the museum collection comprised of objects from the Jammu and Kashmir toshkhana. This toshkhana collection of the Pratap Singh Museum at Srinagar have precious shawls, silver images, arms and armory, copper and brass utensils, Ladakhi handicrafts and many other artifacts of historical value.

The best exhibit of the Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar is its collection of approximately 200 textiles. This textile collection spans a period from 1752 to 1947. Some well-known collections of jamawar, rumals, gabbas and spreads of the Afghan period enrich the collection of Pratap Singh Museum of Srinagar. Another striking piece of collection in this museum is a map of Srinagar that is done by needlework. It was made during the reign of Ranjit Singh. Later, when the Price of Wales visited the place, this map was gifted to him. Some years back, this map was auctioned in England and presently it is back gracing the prized collections of the museum. The map portrays the topography of Srinagar including the important buildings, gardens, rivers, mosques, temples, bridges and lakes.

The Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar also has an extensive collection of archaeological remnants dug out from the Pandrethan. Pandrethan is regarded as the site of Avanthipura and Parashpura of historical fame. The collection of pottery, terracotta, metal artifacts and stone objects enhance the tourist attractions. These artifacts and stone objects date from 2nd to 12th century AD. Among the other items that are worth seeing are the collections of life-style statues of Lord Vishnu, Lord Budhdha, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva and a stone inscription in Arabic.