Colombo National Museum
Encyclopedia
National Museum of Colombo, also known as the Sri Lanka National Museum is one of two museums in Colombo
. It is the largest museum in Sri Lanka
. Its is maintained by the Department of National Museum
of the central government. The museum holds contains a collections of much importance to Sri Lanka such as the regalia
of the country, including the throne and crown of the Kandyan monarchs as well as many other exhibits telling the story of ancient Sri Lanka.
museum as it was called at the beginning was established on 1 January 1877. It founder was Sir William Henry Gregory
the British Governor of Ceylon
(Sri Lanka) at the time. The Royal Asiatic Society
(CB) was instrumental in bringing to the notice of Gregory on his appointment as Governor in 1872 the need for a public Museum with much difficulty the approval of the legislative council was obtained within a year. The Architect
of the Public Works Department, J. G. Smither was able to prepare the plans for new structure on Italian Architectural style. The construction was completed in 1876 and the Museum commenced it functions in the following year.
The construction of the Museum was carried out by Arasi Marikar Wapchie Marikar, born:1829, died 1925,(aka Wapchi Marikar Bass, who was descended from the Sheiq Fareed family who arrived in Ceylon in 1060 AD.), paternal grandfather of Sir Razik Fareed, Kt., JPUM, OBE, MP (born:29-Dec-1893, died:23-Aug-1984). So long as brick and mortar endure, the name of Aapchi Marikar Bass will be long remembered as the builder of the General Post Office in Colombo, Colombo Customs, Old Town Hall in Pettah, Galle Face Hotel, Victoria Arcade, Finlay Moir building, the Clock Tower, Batternburg Battery and many other buldings that are still standing today (2011). The Old Town Hall in Pettah, which is now a busy market, was built on a contract for the sum of 689 Streling Pounds.
In January 1877, the completed building of the Colombo Museum was declared open by His Excellency, Governer Gregory, in the presence of a large crowd, amongst which there were many Muslims present. At the end of the ceremony His Excellency asked Arasi Marikar Wapchi Marikar what honour he wished to have for his dedication. The same question was asked by His Excellency from the carpenter who assisted Wapchi Marikar with the wood work of the Museum who desired a local Rank and was honoured accordingly. Wapchi Marikar, noticing the large number of Muslims present, feared that they would spend their time at the Museum on Friday during the Islamic congregation prayer, and requested that the Museum be closed on Fridays. This request has been adhered to by all authorities in charge of the Museum to this day.
When the throne of the last Kandyan King was to be exhibited at the Museum, the then Prime Minister, Mr. D.S.Senanayake, obtained the consent of Sir Razik Fareed, Wapchi Marikar’s grandson, to keep the Museum open on the intervening Fridays only.
During the period between 1877 and 1999 the Authorities of the museum took various steps to display the cultural and natural heritage of the country for this purpose. Several other wings were added from time to time under the direction of Dr. Arthur Willey and Dr. Joseph Pearson new structures were built during the period of Dr. P. E. P. Deraniyagala, Dr. P. H. D. H. de Silva and Sirinimal Lakdusinghe. One of the natural history
museum, and yet another consists of the auditorium. These buildings would facilitate the extension of the library ethnological and Anthropological studies, etc
With the development of the museum to international level, it earned the status of a national museum during the period of Dr. P. E. P. Deraniyagala. He was able to open up branch museums in Jaffna
, Kandy
, and Rathnapura and a full – fledged department of national museum was established in 1942 under the act No. 31. The extension of the number of branch museums has now increased to nine and in addition a school science programme and a mobile museum service are also in operation.
The installation of the Crown jewels & the throne of the last King of Kandy
which were handed over back to Sri Lanka by the British Government, has greatly enhanced the quality of the museum collection. In spite of the enormousness of the various collections thematic arrangement of the galleries has provided and opportunity to visitors to study the ancient culture of the Sri Lanka under one roof. This process has further been improved by the arrangement of the galleries of the ground floor in a historical sequence and those of the upper galleries on a thematic basis.
Along with the Colombo National Museum library was also, established on 1 January 1877. The government Oriental library (1870) was incorporated in to Colombo National Museum library, and served as the nucleus of the library collection by collecting the local publications during the past 129 years; the library has been functioning as an unofficial national library in Sri Lanka; became the first legal Deposit library in the Island. This resulted in the accumulation of a valuable collection of materials pertaining to Sri Lanka. From its inception, special attention has been given to building up of a collection related to Sri Lanka, Orientation and Natural Science.
Those collections indeed portray the development of the library holdings and in 1885 the law requires that a copy of every document printed in the country has to be deposited in the museum library. At present the library accommodates over 12 million titles including a large number of rare books, periodicals and palm leaf manuscripts.
The courage and the collection reflect the subject areas of interests and ongoing activities of the museum. The scope of the museum library is as follows;
Most of these library materials could be obtain in as Documents
Cliental of the library
The Director and the staff
Approved readers such as researches, university staff both under graduate and post graduation candidates, Subject specialists and normal public.
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
. It is the largest museum in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Its is maintained by the Department of National Museum
Department of National Museum (Sri Lanka)
The Department of National Museum is a non-ministerial government department in Sri Lanka responsible for maintaining the National Museums. There are other museum in the country run by the Department of Archaeology and the Central Cultural Fund, Sri Lanka....
of the central government. The museum holds contains a collections of much importance to Sri Lanka such as the regalia
Regalia
Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...
of the country, including the throne and crown of the Kandyan monarchs as well as many other exhibits telling the story of ancient Sri Lanka.
History
The ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
museum as it was called at the beginning was established on 1 January 1877. It founder was Sir William Henry Gregory
William Henry Gregory
Sir William Henry Gregory PC was an Anglo-Irish writer and politician.The only child of Robert Gregory and Elizabeth O'Hara Gregory, he was born at the Castle, in Dublin's Phoenix Park. From 1830 to 1835 he attended Harrow, where he was an award-winning student...
the British Governor of Ceylon
Governor of Ceylon
The British Governor of Ceylon was an official who ruled Ceylon during the British colonial period between 1798 and 1948....
(Sri Lanka) at the time. The Royal Asiatic Society
Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka
The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. One of the oldest learned societies in Sri Lanka with a history of over 160 years. Established on the 7th February, 1845, based on lines similar to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland to further oriental...
(CB) was instrumental in bringing to the notice of Gregory on his appointment as Governor in 1872 the need for a public Museum with much difficulty the approval of the legislative council was obtained within a year. The Architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
of the Public Works Department, J. G. Smither was able to prepare the plans for new structure on Italian Architectural style. The construction was completed in 1876 and the Museum commenced it functions in the following year.
The construction of the Museum was carried out by Arasi Marikar Wapchie Marikar, born:1829, died 1925,(aka Wapchi Marikar Bass, who was descended from the Sheiq Fareed family who arrived in Ceylon in 1060 AD.), paternal grandfather of Sir Razik Fareed, Kt., JPUM, OBE, MP (born:29-Dec-1893, died:23-Aug-1984). So long as brick and mortar endure, the name of Aapchi Marikar Bass will be long remembered as the builder of the General Post Office in Colombo, Colombo Customs, Old Town Hall in Pettah, Galle Face Hotel, Victoria Arcade, Finlay Moir building, the Clock Tower, Batternburg Battery and many other buldings that are still standing today (2011). The Old Town Hall in Pettah, which is now a busy market, was built on a contract for the sum of 689 Streling Pounds.
In January 1877, the completed building of the Colombo Museum was declared open by His Excellency, Governer Gregory, in the presence of a large crowd, amongst which there were many Muslims present. At the end of the ceremony His Excellency asked Arasi Marikar Wapchi Marikar what honour he wished to have for his dedication. The same question was asked by His Excellency from the carpenter who assisted Wapchi Marikar with the wood work of the Museum who desired a local Rank and was honoured accordingly. Wapchi Marikar, noticing the large number of Muslims present, feared that they would spend their time at the Museum on Friday during the Islamic congregation prayer, and requested that the Museum be closed on Fridays. This request has been adhered to by all authorities in charge of the Museum to this day.
When the throne of the last Kandyan King was to be exhibited at the Museum, the then Prime Minister, Mr. D.S.Senanayake, obtained the consent of Sir Razik Fareed, Wapchi Marikar’s grandson, to keep the Museum open on the intervening Fridays only.
During the period between 1877 and 1999 the Authorities of the museum took various steps to display the cultural and natural heritage of the country for this purpose. Several other wings were added from time to time under the direction of Dr. Arthur Willey and Dr. Joseph Pearson new structures were built during the period of Dr. P. E. P. Deraniyagala, Dr. P. H. D. H. de Silva and Sirinimal Lakdusinghe. One of the natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
museum, and yet another consists of the auditorium. These buildings would facilitate the extension of the library ethnological and Anthropological studies, etc
With the development of the museum to international level, it earned the status of a national museum during the period of Dr. P. E. P. Deraniyagala. He was able to open up branch museums in Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
, and Rathnapura and a full – fledged department of national museum was established in 1942 under the act No. 31. The extension of the number of branch museums has now increased to nine and in addition a school science programme and a mobile museum service are also in operation.
The installation of the Crown jewels & the throne of the last King of Kandy
Nayaks of Kandy
The Nayaks of Kandy were the rulers of Sri Lanka with Kandy as their capital from 1739 to 1815. They were also the last dynasty to rule Sri Lanka. They were related to the Madurai Nayak dynasty and to the Tanjore Nayak dynasty...
which were handed over back to Sri Lanka by the British Government, has greatly enhanced the quality of the museum collection. In spite of the enormousness of the various collections thematic arrangement of the galleries has provided and opportunity to visitors to study the ancient culture of the Sri Lanka under one roof. This process has further been improved by the arrangement of the galleries of the ground floor in a historical sequence and those of the upper galleries on a thematic basis.
Along with the Colombo National Museum library was also, established on 1 January 1877. The government Oriental library (1870) was incorporated in to Colombo National Museum library, and served as the nucleus of the library collection by collecting the local publications during the past 129 years; the library has been functioning as an unofficial national library in Sri Lanka; became the first legal Deposit library in the Island. This resulted in the accumulation of a valuable collection of materials pertaining to Sri Lanka. From its inception, special attention has been given to building up of a collection related to Sri Lanka, Orientation and Natural Science.
Library holdings
Special Collections- Private Collection of H. C. P. Bell
- Private Collection of Mr. Huga Nevil
- Private collection of Palm leaf manuscripts of Mr. W. A. De Silva
- Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranike donated Mr. Henry Blake’s collection of Palm leaf manuscripts
- Ven. Kalukodayawa Pannasekera Maha Thero’s collection of sinhala Periodicals & Newspapers.
Those collections indeed portray the development of the library holdings and in 1885 the law requires that a copy of every document printed in the country has to be deposited in the museum library. At present the library accommodates over 12 million titles including a large number of rare books, periodicals and palm leaf manuscripts.
The courage and the collection reflect the subject areas of interests and ongoing activities of the museum. The scope of the museum library is as follows;
- Arts and humanitiesHumanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
: Archaeology, EthnologyEthnologyEthnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
, AnthropologyAnthropologyAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, Oriental Languages and literature. - Natural Sciences: ZoologyZoologyZoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, Entomology, GeologyGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and BotanyBotanyBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses... - This huge collection of the library could be separated in to various groups according to the document types.
- Palm leaf collection which are written in Sinhala, PaliPáli- External links :* *...
, SanskritSanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Burmese, TeluguTelugu scriptTelugu script, an abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts, is used to write the Telugu language, a language found in the South-Central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh as well as several other neighboring states. The Telugu script is derived from the Bhattiprolu script...
and TamilTamil scriptThe Tamil script is a script that is used to write the Tamil language as well as other minority languages such as Badaga, Irulas, and Paniya...
characters among the subjects covered are BuddhismBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Sinhala literature, History, Indigenous, MedicineMedicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, AstrologyAstrologyAstrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, Demonology, veterinary Science, Art, Architecture and Folklore. - Printed books and Pamphlets. This collection comprises the entire range of documents from the first work printed in 1737 to the latest book.
- Periodical collection such as Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (CB), Ceylon Antiquary and Literary Register, Young Ceylon etc…The collection was built up to a great extent by exchanges received from the institutions in all parts of the globe. Foreign periodical collection contains important titles such as discovery reports, Ray Society publications,
- Government Publications- such as Blue books from 1864–1938, Administration Reports from 1867 to date, Sessional papers from 1860 to date Hansards from 1863-1962 etc..
- Directories, Statistical year books, Trade catalogues etc
- Law Reports
- Maps and Drawings
- Stamps and post cards
Most of these library materials could be obtain in as Documents
- Microfilms
- Microfiches
Cliental of the library
The Director and the staff
Approved readers such as researches, university staff both under graduate and post graduation candidates, Subject specialists and normal public.
Services of the library
- Reference Services
- Reader advisory Services
- Inquiry Services
- Content pages services and current awareness services
- Reprographic services (Provision of Microforms, Photocopies and photographs)
- Short reading lists are prepared on request
- Postal and telephone inquiries received by the library are obliged.
- Newspaper chipping service