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The
Victoria Memorial (Victoria Memorial Hall) is a large marble building in
Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India which was built between 1906 and
1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901) and
is now a museum and tourist destination under the auspices of the
Ministry of Culture. The Memorial lies on the Maidan (grounds) by the
bank of the Hooghly river, near Jawaharlal Nehru road.
History
In January 1901, on the death of Queen Victoria, Lord Curzon (1, Viceroy
of India, suggested the creation of a fitting memorial. He proposed the
construction of a grand building with a museum and gardens. Curzon said:
"Let us, therefore, have a
building, stately, spacious, monumental and grand, to which every
newcomer in Calcutta will turn, to which all the resident population,
European and Native, will flock, where all classes will learn the
lessons of history, and see revived before their eyes the marvels of the
past."
The Prince of Wales, later King George V, laid the foundation stone on
January 4, 1906 and it was formally opened to the public in 1921. In
1912, before the Victoria Memorial was finished, King George V announced
the transfer of the capital of India from Calcutta to
New Delhi. Thus, the Victoria Memorial
was built in what would be a provincial city rather than a capital.
Finance
The Victoria Memorial was funded by the states of India, individuals of
the British Raj and the British government in London. The princes and
the people of India responded to Curzon's suggestion. Of the ten million
rupees (one crore) in funds for the project, five hundred thousand
rupees (five lakhs) were donated.
Design
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The
Victoria Memorial's architect was William Emerson (1843 - 1924),
president of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The design
is in the Indo-Saracenic revivalist style. This style uses a mixture
of British and Mughal elements as well as Venetian, Egyptian,
Deccani and Islamic architectural influences. The building is 338
feet (103 m) by 228 feet (69 m) and rises to a height of 184 feet
(56 m). It is constructed of white Makrana marble.
The
gardens of the Victoria Memorial were designed by Lord Redesdale and
David Prain. Emerson's assistant, Vincent J. Esch designed the
bridge of the north aspect and the garden gates. |
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Construction
The construction of the Victoria Memorial was delayed by Curzon's
departure from India in 1905 with a subsequent loss of local enthusiasm
for the project and by the need for testing of the foundations. The
Victoria Memorial's foundation stone was set in 1906 and the building
opened in 1921. The work of construction was entrusted to Messrs. Martin
& Co. of Calcutta. Work on the superstructure began in 1910. After 1947,
when India gained independence, additions were made.
External Decorative Features
Atop the central dome of the Victoria Memorial is the 16 ft (4.9 m)
figure of the Angel of Victory. Surrounding the dome are allegorical
sculptures including Art, Architecture, Justice, and Charity and above
the North Porch are Motherhood, Prudence and Learning.
Taj Mahal
Emerson may not have taken, literally, from the
Taj Mahal but there is a
reminiscence. Like the Taj Mahal,
the Victoria Memorial is built of white Makrana marble and is a memorial
to an empress. In design, it echos the
Taj Mahal with its dome, four subsidiaries, octagonal domed chattris,
high portals, terrace, and domed corner towers.
Exhibitions
The Victoria Memorial has a number of galleries, 25 in all. These
include the royal gallery, the national leaders gallery, the portrait
gallery, central hall, the sculpture gallery, the arms and armoury
gallery and the newer, Calcutta gallery. The Victoria Memorial has the
largest single collection of the works of Thomas Daniell (1749 - 840)
and his nephew, William Daniell (1769 - 1837). The Victoria Memorial
also has a collection of rare and antiquarian books such as the
illustrated works of William Shakespeare, the Arabian Nights and the
Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam as well as books about kathak dance and thumri
music by Wazid Ali Shah. However, the galleries and their exhibitions,
the programmatic elements of the Memorial do not compete with the purely
architectural spaces or voids.
Royal
Gallery
The Royal
Gallery displays a number of portraits of Victoria and Prince Albert
and, paintings illustrating their lives, by Jansen and Winter halter.
The oil paintings are copies of those in London. They include Victoria
receiving the sacrament at her coronation in Westminster Abbey (June
1838). Victoria's marriage to Albert in the Chapel Royal at St. James'
Palace (1840); the christening of the Prince of Wales in St. George's
Chapel, Windsor Castle (1842); the marriage of the Prince of Wales
(Edward VII) to Princess Alexandra (1863).
Victoria
at the First Jubilee service at Westminster Abbey (1887) and the Second
Jubilee service at St. Paul's Cathedral (June 1897). Victoria's
childhood rosewood pianoforte and her correspondence desk from Windsor
Castle stand in the centre of the room.
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Edward
VII presented these items to the Victoria Memorial. On the south
wall hangs the Russian artist, Vasily Vereshchagin's oil painting of
the state entry of Edward VII, (then Prince of Wales), into
Jaipur in 1876.
Calcutta Gallery
In the mid 1970s, the matter of a new gallery devoted to the visual
history of Calcutta was promoted by Saiyid Nurul Hasan, the minister
for education. In 1986, Hasan became the governor of West Bengal and
chairman of the board of trustees of the Victoria Memorial. In
November 1988, Hasan hosted an international seminar on the
Historical perspectives for the Calcutta tercentenary. The Calcutta
gallery concept was agreed and a design was developed leading to the
opening of the gallery in 1992. The Calcutta gallery houses a visual
display of the history and development of Calcutta from Job Charnock
(1630 - 1692) of the English East India company to 1911, when the
capital of India was transferred to New
Delhi. The gallery also has a life size diorama of Chitpur road
in the late 1800s. |
Gardens
The gardens cover an area of 64 acres (260,000 m2). They are maintained
by a team of 21 gardeners. They were designed by Redesdale and David
Prain. On Esch's bridge, between narrative panels by Gascombe John, the
is a bronze statue of Victoria, by George Frampton. Victoria is seated
on her throne. She is wearing the robes of the Star of India. In the
paved quadrangles and elsewhere around the building, other statues
commemorate Hastings, Cornwallis, Clive, Wellesley, and Dalhousie.
Approaching the Victoria Memorial building from the south, visitors pass
the Edward VII memorial arch. Upon the arch is a bronze equestrian
statue of Edward VII by Bertram Mackennal and, a marble statue of Curzon
by Frederic William Pomeroy. The garden contains statues of dignitaries
such as Bentinck, governor-general of India (1828 - 1835); Ripon,
governor-general of India (1880–84); and Rajendranath Mookerjee, a
pioneer industrialist of Bengal.
Getting
There
Nearest
airport is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (IATA: CCU, ICAO:
VECC) is an international airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal,
serving the Kolkata metropolitan area. It is located approximately 17 km
(11 mi) from the city center.
Kolkata
Railway Station (formerly known as Chitpur Station), is the newest of
the four intra-city railway stations serving Howrah and Kolkata, India;
the others are Sealdah Station, in Kolkata, Shalimar Station in Howrah
and Howrah Station in Howrah.
Kolkata Station is situated in the Chitpur
locality of north central Kolkata. The station is linked to the Sealdah-Ranaghat Line and is served by the Eastern Railway for trains to
Naihati, Bandel, Kalyani Simanta, Gede, Shantipur, Krishnanagar, Dankuni,
Kolkata Airport, Bongaon,
Hasnabad and others.
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