Albert Hall Museum, oldest museum in the country and functions as the State Museum of Rajasthan

Albert Hall Museum

The Albert Hall Museum is located in Jaipur Rajasthan, India. It is the oldest museum in the country and functions as the State Museum of Rajasthan. Located in the Ram Niwas Garden outside the city walls as opposed to the New Gate, the building is a great example of an Indo-Saracenic structure. It is also referred to as the Central Government Museum. The building was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, assisted by Mir Tujumool Hoosein, and was opened as a public museum in 1887.

Maharaja Ram Singh initially wanted to use this building as a city corridor, but his successor, Madho Singh II, decided that it should become a museum of Jaipur art and be protected as part of the brand new Ram Nivas Garden. The museum is named after King Edward VII, during whose visit to the city as Prince of Wales on 6 February 1876, the foundation stone was laid. The museum has a rich collection of artefacts including paintings, rings, carpets, ivory, stone and metal sculptures and crystal work. The series consists of coins from the Gupta, Kushan, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British periods.