Indian Museum

The Indian Museum in Kolkata is the oldest and one of the largest museums in India, founded in 1814. It houses extensive collections across archaeology, art and natural history that are central to India’s museum heritage.

Visitors see long-established galleries devoted to archaeological finds, South Asian and Mughal paintings, Buddhist and Hindu sculptures, and large natural history and geology displays. The museum’s collections include fossils, cultural artefacts and varied zoological and geological specimens across numerous rooms and halls.

Founded in 1814 by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the museum expanded through the 19th and 20th centuries to develop the multiple specialist departments that remain today. Its collections grew through scholarly activity, colonial-era acquisitions and later archaeological work across the subcontinent.

The museum is located in central Kolkata on a major thoroughfare near the city’s cultural and commercial district. It is accessible from central city transport links and is a short distance from prominent central Kolkata landmarks.

• Founded: Established in 1814 by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, making it the oldest museum in India.
• Collection size: Holds a very large collection of objects spanning archaeology, art, and natural history, numbering in the tens of thousands.

What to See #

• Major departments: Organised into major departments covering archaeology, art, anthropology, geology and zoology, each department houses long-running collections important to South Asian studies and natural history.
• Exhibition complex: The museum complex contains multiple exhibition halls with archaeological finds, paintings and natural science specimens that occupy an entire block in central Kolkata.