Peshawar Museum, Peshawar

The Peshawar Museum building was erected in 1890 as Victoria Hall in the memory of Queen Victoria (Queen Victoria had the longest reign as Queen 1837-1901). The two-story building was built in a harmonious style consisting of British, Hindu, Buddhist and Mughal,Islamic architecture. After the formation of the NWFP in 1901, the Queen Victoria Hall, then used as a nightclub, was converted into the Peshawar Museum in 1907. The museum has the largest collection of Gandhara art from the Buddhist era and is considered to be one of the largest collections of Buddhist objects in the world. The major cities of Gandhara from which antiquities were collected include Kapisi (Bagram), Pashkalavati (Charsadda), Proshapura (Peshawar), Takshishila (Taxila) and Adabhandpura (Hund,Swat).The museum also has the largest collection of Gautama Buddha. Exhibitions of Gandhara art in the main hall, including Buddha stone statues, terracotta statues and other Buddhist objects, include stories of Buddhist life, miracles, worship of symbols, coffins of relics and individual statues of Gautama Buddha.The museum also exhibits ethnic artifacts from that period. The present collection contains approximately 3 items based on Gandhara, Greek, Buddhist, Kushan, Parthenon, and Indo-Sethite life.Examples include art, sculptures, coins, manuscripts, sculptures, ancient books, early manuscripts of the Qur'an, weapons, clothing, jewelry, Kalash sculptures, inscriptions, Mughal and later paintings, household items, pottery, as well as samples of Persian and local handicrafts.