The Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, Ahmedabad

HERITAGE NETWORKS

The Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, Ahmedabad

"The painted cloths and miniatures from Muni Punyavijayji's Jain collection includes some rare painted wooden book covers (patli) created for palm-leaf manuscripts."

Gujarat, where IIMA is located, has a rich and living heritage that many museums seek to nurture. In this issue, we focus on Ahmedabad's Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum. We hope you enjoy reading about what this museum has to offer.

The Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum is one of the finest museums of Indian art and coinage in Gujarat. It has a wide range of sculptures, bronzes, illustrated manuscripts, miniature paintings and drawings, carved wood, ancient and contemporary coins, textiles, and bead work on display. These span more than 2000 years of Indian art history, and represent the entirety of the Indian subcontinent.

The museum began with a collection of manuscripts, bronzes and cloth paintings donated by the visionary Jain monk Muni Punyavijayji in 1956. The museum moved to a new building in 1984 designed by the internationally acclaimed architect Balkrishna V. Doshi. In what follows we highlight some of the features of the museum.

**Buddha head, Stucco, Gandhara, 5th century CE, LD Museum, Ahmedabad**

The Madhuri Desai Collection of Indian sculpture represents the major regional styles of the subcontinent, and includes a Buddha head of the 5th century in stucco from Gandhara, an early Gupta period cult image of Lord Rama from the 6th century from Deogarh (Madhya Pradesh), some splendid Jain bronze images from Ghogha, and some superb Chola sculptures (10th-12th centuries).

The painted cloths and miniatures from Muni Punyavijayji's Jain collection includes some rare painted wooden book covers (patli) created for palm-leaf manuscripts. A Jaina pilgrimage painting on cloth executed in 1433 at Champaner (Gujarat) is the earliest example of such a painting on cloth. Other exceptional examples include the illustrated manuscripts of the Kalakacharya Katha (c.1430) in Mandu style, the Sangrahani Sutra (1583), painted by Chitara Govinda, the Shripala Rasa (18th century), painted Vijnapatipatra (invitation) from Ahmedabad (1796), several rare cosmological diagrams called Adhidvipa (c.1440 A.D.) and the Jaina Siddha-Chakra-Yantra.

**14 dreams of Trishla, folio from Chandraprabha Charitra Patan, Gujarat, 1498 CE, LD Museum, Ahmedabad**

The museum also has a woodwork collection donated by Lilavati Lalbhai. The Kasturbhai Lalbhai Collection of over 1855 Indian Drawings and paintings (miniature paintings of various schools) was originally created by Gaganendranath Tagore (1867-1938) and Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951) and offered to Kasturbhai Lalbhai around 1940. The Priyakant T. Munshaw Collection of Coinage includes the earliest punched-marked coins called bentbar (c.600 BCE), an Akbar's Din-i-Ilahi coin, Jahangir's Zodiac series in silver, and Adil Shah's Larin (dated 1668). The museum also has a bead work collection gifted by Mahesh Pandya that showcases the art of Moti Guthana or Moti Poravanu of Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat.

**Seated Neminath, the 22nd Jain tirthankara, dark greenish marble, Gujarat, 10th century CE, LD Museum, Ahmedabad**

The LD Museum is both lively and contemplative at the same time. Weekend walks, curated tours, an active calendar of events, the museum has activities for both adults and children. The Instagram page has it all. Spend a quiet afternoon at the museum. Reflect on why the Jain tirthankara Neminath left his wedding to become a monk, discover that Surya wears boots, or immerse yourself in the beautiful landscape paintings of the Kangra hills. Join your children in treasure hunts and colouring their own miniatures. The Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum is the place to visit.
The Curatorial Team, LD Museum