CSMVS Inaugurates Study Gallery On Ancient World Interconnections, Features 300 Artefacts From Different Civilisations
Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai, inaugurated a new study gallery, ‘Networks of the Past: A Study Gallery of India and the Ancient World,’ on Friday. The gallery is designed to illustrate the interconnections between ancient civilisations, including India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Persia, and China, across trade, religion, writing, and art spanning 5,000 years.
The initiative, supported by Getty’s Sharing Collections Programme, features 300 archaeological objects sourced from fifteen Indian and global museums. The collection includes artifacts from regions of undivided India, highlighting the Harappan Civilisation.
The exhibition is structured thematically, beginning with the Harappan Civilisation and concluding with the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE, with a focus on historical exchanges. Sculptures, coins, inscriptions, pottery, and jewelry form the core of the display. The gallery is scheduled to remain open for a long-duration loan of three years.
The project is the result of international collaboration and joint curation, developed over four years. The initiative has been endorsed by the Indian government’s Ministry of Culture, and includes important antiquities from Indian institutions such as the Archaeological Survey of India, the National Museum New Delhi and the Indian Museum in Kolkata, among others. It also showcases international partnerships from The British Museum London, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Rietberg in Zurich, the Benaki Museum in Athens, the Al-Sabah Collection of Kuwait; and the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens.
The study gallery serves as the basis for an ambitious educational program developed by the CSMVS Education Department. The museum reports that the long-term loans of original artifacts will allow over 20 universities across India to structure teaching curricula using the objects as primary historical evidence.
A specially designated learning center, NALANDA, has been created nearby to conduct tailored educational programs for school students. Furthermore, the museum plans to extend the reach of the gallery's content to rural areas through micro-exhibitions traveling on the ‘Museum on Wheels’ buses and the CSMVS Trunk Museum project. A project website is also being developed to provide digital resources for educators.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee, director general of CSMVS, said, “Civilisation is not a destination, it’s a journey. The gallery invites us to explore the ancient world not as something lost to history, but as the foundation upon which our present stands and our future is built. The past has profoundly shaped global, national, and local relationships between societies and individuals. In today’s interconnected world, no major event goes without impacting humanity. To understand our history meaningfully, we must move beyond isolated narratives and adopt a global perspective.”
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