SOCIOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT - 3

KEERTHANA ELCHU
1301067
VI SEM, B.ARCH
SPA, JNAFAU

VICTORIA
MEMORIAL
Location : Kolkata, West Bengal
Inception 1901
Built in between : 1906 1921
Style of architecture : Indo Saracenic revivalist style
It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria (18191901) 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.

HISTORY
In January 1901, on the death of Queen Victoria, George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and Viceroy of
India, suggested the creation of a fitting memorial. He proposed the construction of a grand building with a museum
and gardens.

FINANCE

The princes and people of India responded generously to Curzon's appeal for funds and the total cost of
construction of this monument amounting to one crore, five lakhs of rupees, was entirely derived from their voluntary
subscriptions

DESIGN
Lord Curzon after the death of Queen Victoria said,
"Let us, 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.
He wanted to mark the rule of British in India in Calcutta, the then capital city of India.
The architect wasWilliam Emerson(18431924), president of theRoyal Institute of British Architects.
This style uses a mixture of British and Mughal elements as well as Venetian, Egyptian, Deccani and
Islamic architectural influences.
Even before the architect expressed his views on the style of the building Lord Curzon insisted the
use of white makarana marble.

THE ARCHITECTS ADMIRATION FOR

TAJ:

Although he was asked to design the museum in Italian renaissance style , he chose to take inspiration from
Mughal architecture and The Taj Mahal in particular.

This later went on to be called as Britains answer to The Taj Mahal.

Much might be said about the external sculptures, one of which on the north side depicts a lions head with
water flowing out of it and passing into four troughs representing the four great Indian rivers the Ganges,
the Krishna, the Indus and the Jumuna thus symbolising the life-giving work of Britain in India. as said by
Lord Curzon.

CONCLUSION
Along with paying respect to the Queen Victoria, the architect also tried to show a cultural link
between the Mughal and the British periods in India by introducing this particular style of architecture
and by using a lot of varied architectural elements.

SALAR JUNG MUSEUM

Location : Hyderabad , Telangana
Inception 1951
Built in between : 1968
Style of architecture : Modern style
Situated on the southern bank of the
river Musi, the Salarjung Museum is the
third largest museum in India housing
the biggest one-man collections of
antiques in the world. It is well known
throughout India for its prized
collections belonging to different
civilizations dating back to the 1st
century.
Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III (1889-1949), former Prime Minister of the seventh
Nizam of Hyderabad, spent a substantial amount of his income over thirty five years to make
this priceless collection, his life's passion.

Evolution of The Museum

The collections left behind in his ancestral palace, 'Diwan Deodi' were formerly exhibited there as a private museum
which was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru on 16th December, 1951, during his visit to Hyderabad.
The administration of the Museum continued to be vested in the Salar Jung Estate Committee till 1958.
Thereafter , The Museum continued to be administered directly by the Government of India till 1961.
Through an Act of Parliament (Act of 26 of 1961) the Salar Jung Museum with its Library was declared to be an
Institution of National Importance
Therefore, after a thorough research on all the artifacts by the state archaeological survey, the collections of
the Museum and the library were transferred from Dewan Deodi to the new building in the year 1968, and two
more buildings were added in the year 2000.

Design
The Museum when proposed earlier was a plain building with a modern outlook design with
the standards for museum design.
A few architectural elements were taken from the European styles and Mughal architecture
such as the windows and the pointed arches at the entrance.

ADDITIONS TO THE BUILDING TO MEET WITH THE CONTEXT

A lot of dignitaries who visited the museum questioned about the plain look of a museum which held
so much of cultural importance.
Therefore, in the year 2000, the proposal to change the museum's facade into Indo Sarasenic style, a
blend of Indian and Persian architecture, with domes, flutings and cornices to complement other
monuments like the High Court and Osmania General Hospital located within a radius of a few
kilometers in the Old City took place
According to the recent updates, it is being updated into a world-class museum by introduction of
technology with the help of 9-10 crore of annual budget of the museum.

CONCLUSION
The building was conceived with a modern outlook with a little relation to the
context.
The understanding on the Nawabi culture was made visible through the use of
domes.

COMPARISON
CONTEXT

VICTORIA
MEMORIAL

SALAR JUNG
MUSEUM

PURPOSE

A tribute to Queen
Victoria

A tribute to the Salar

Jung family

Indo- Saracenic style

Indo Saracenic style

moving towards
modern style

MATERIAL

Marble

Brick and concrete

CULTURE AND
CONTEXT

1.Domination of
British.
Therefore making it
visible was the main
motive.
2.Showing the link
between cultures and
context was
secondary.
3.Architects personal
interest in the

Making it a modern
building was
important to cope up
with the modern day
culture. But additions
were made to relate
it to the culture of
that area.

ARCHITECTURAL
STYLE