Amrapali Museum

Located in Jaipur at Ashok Marg, C-scheme, the museum premises are spread over 6,500 sq ft.

It is an extensive collection that shows how the traditional craftsmanship has impacted modern and contemporary design sensibilities.

[4] Arora and Ajmera were college friends with a common interest in historical, artistic handcrafted objects.

[6] While they were collecting pieces out of general love of the art, for design inspiration and for business requirements, the idea of starting a museum had not crossed their minds.

In their long journey, they had extensive interactions with craftsmen, silversmiths, art enthusiasts, scholars, and experts.

They began to recognise the intrinsic value of art and felt a need to share the outcome of their pursuit with connoisseurs and lay public as a service to disseminate artistic sensibilities.

While there are many pieces that belonged to the royal families or adorned deities in temples, many ornaments are from the tribal communities which they used in their everyday lives.

The genesis of terms and categories such as Tribal, Mughal, Rajput, Temple jewellery are illustrated through representative pieces.

Besides jewellery, the museum has a large collection of sundry silver objects ranging from utilitarian to decorative to luxurious items.

Spittoons, rosewater sprinklers, and betel leaf sets are small objects; plates, tea sets, and assortments of boxes in every shape, size and type of craftsmanship are medium-sized objects; personal accessories as small as a toothpick are tiny, while elaborately made silver shoe covers are very heavy; and there is also a chariot covered with silver.

As one enters the museum the first exhibit displays the equipments of the founders accompanied by the first object of this collection acquired by them.

Many silver ornaments are showcased here that belong to different parts of India such as Ladakh, Karnataka, Orissa, regions of Rajasthan and so on, and to different communities.

The silver ornaments collection includes a 19th-century mirror work necklace in emerald green and white, a silver sehra (an ornament to be tied on a bridegroom's forehead) from Himachal Pradesh, hairpins, mathapattis (head ornaments in the form of bands, mostly for brides), karnaphools (earrings and ear cuffs), hastphools (hand jewellery), pair phools (foot jewellery), kamarband (cummerbund or waistband), bichwa (toe rings), naths (nose rings), kadas (bracelets), kangans (bangles), and borla (forehead ornaments) from Gujarat, Kutch, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and other places.

Even though the Amrapali collection is predominantly devoted to silver artefacts, gold objects displayed in this section represent the element of luxury and beautification beyond the mundane and utilitarian aspects of Indian jewellery.

The jewellery worn by the members of royal families brings to life the opulence and grandeur of the era of Maharajas and Maharanis.

Jewellery from south predominate the gold section with traditional necklace, Hansli, from Karnataka and diamond-studded armlets of Hyderabad or precious stones embedded hair ornaments of Tamil Nadu.

The diversity in the designs of hookah mouthpieces show the capricious and whimsical ideas of the patrons executed with finesse by the artists.

The basement section is dedicated to showcase the range of designs in the Indian artistry and its application by the craftsmen.

Many of the textile pieces have been embellished with traditional embroidery in gold and silver like salma sitara, zari, zardozi etc.

Extra care has been taken to keep this part of the museum dimly lit as harsh light can be detrimental to the longevity of fabrics.

Many prominent personalities and celebrities have visited the Amrapali Museum and shown their appreciation such as Shashi Tharoor, Siddhi Kumari, Alex Popov etc.

Display at Amrapali Museum, Jaipur
Collections, Amrapali Museum, Jaipur
Jain Chariot, Amrapali Museum
Silver Anklets (Kadiyan) of Rajasthan, Amrapali Museum
Gold Nath from Uttaranchal, Amrapali Museum
Hookahs, Amrapali Museum