Bangladesh National Museum

The National Museum at Shahbagh holds the principal collection of the country across four floors and around forty galleries: archaeology from the Buddhist and Hindu periods of Bengal with stone and bronze sculpture from Paharpur and Mainamati, Islamic period material, coins and inscriptions, ethnography of the hill peoples, natural history, and extensive sections on the language movement and the 1971 war of independence, which occupy a substantial part of the building and are the reason many Bangladeshi visitors come. There is also a large collection of Bengali folk art, textiles including jamdani, and terracotta plaques from temple facades. It is large enough that a first visit means choosing sections rather than trying to see everything.

History

The Asiatic Society of Bengal proposed a museum for Dhaka in 1855, the idea returned in 1907, and the government of Bengal founded the Dhaka Museum on 20 March 1913, supported by nearly 10,000 taka from the city's residents and a government grant of 2,000. Lord Carmichael, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, opened it on 7 August 1913 in the old building of Jagannath College, it opened to the public on 25 August 1914 and moved to the Nimtali Baroduari by 1915, and after independence it was reorganised as the Bangladesh National Museum, inaugurated in its present form in 1983 (Wikipedia, Bangladesh National Museum).

What's there

• Bengal stone and bronze sculpture - the Buddhist and Hindu material from Paharpur and Mainamati.
• Terracotta temple plaques - the panels from Bengali temple facades.
• Jamdani and folk textiles - the weaving collections.
• The independence galleries - the 1971 sections that fill much of a floor.

When to go

November to March. Three hours, and that is selective. It closes on Thursdays and opens in the afternoon only on Fridays. Mornings are quieter. Air conditioning is uneven.

Good to know

It is large, the display is dated in many galleries and lighting is poor in places. English labelling is uneven. The independence sections are graphic in parts. Photography is restricted or charged.

Nearby

Curzon Hall and the university are south; Ramna Park lies east.

Key facts