Mathura Museum is one of the oldest museums that have the traces of the historical era. It is believed that the Museum is 140 years old. The museum is the perfect place for all the history buffs. The museum was founded in the year 1874 and houses some of the best pieces of archeology. The sculptures here reflect the Gupta and Kushan dynasty and things used during their kingdom. The museum was founded by Sir F.S Growse and is also called as the Government Archeological Museum. When the Museum was started it was named as Curzon Museum of Archeology and later the name was changed.  Sir F.S Growse was the collector of Mathura when he founded the Museum. Mathura Museum is the richest museum as it has some of the most valuable sculptures.

However, the collection in the museum has become worse and losing its original charm since the last few years. Many of the stone and terracotta sculptures are damaged and are deteriorating. Some of the artifacts and some expensive pottery items are in the neglected condition, but lately due to the interference of the media, it has been successful to draw the attention of government officials.  

Collection

The Museum has a vast collection of expensive and rare items. The museum boasts of housing more than 600 stone sculptures, 350 metal figures, 415 paintings, 25,000 coins, 3000 terracotta figures and 1300 other art items. This excellent collection of art belongs to the ancient Mathura school of art. The splendid sculptures of the Kushana kingdom leaves you spellbound. The museum also has some enormous collection of gold, silver, bronze and copper coins and some of the mesmerizing artifacts of ancient pottery, clay seals and rare paintings.  The Mathura Museum also houses some of the rare statues of Gautam Buddha. It is believed that the first ever Buddha image was made here. The most exciting feature of the Museum is the headless figure of Kanishka. Also the statue of the archaic mother goddess and the plaques of the Sunga period are exceptional and stand out from all of the collections.

There are many museums across the country and collections from the Mathura Museum have been displayed there. The collection and rare artifacts from the Museum has been displayed in museums in foreign cities like Zurich, Paris, London and Boston.  The sculptures here in the museum belong to the 3rd Century BCE and most of the artifacts belong to Gupta rule which was the golden age of history.

Galleries

Mathura is also called as Vrindavan, which is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The city is mentioned in the oldest epic Ramayana and the Mathura Museum is the World Heritage Site. The Mathura Museum is one of the topmost centers of historical research and study. The veling citizens and the government authorities work together to preserve the heritage that has been left by the Mathura School of Sculpture.

In the month of November 2014 as Braj City Heritage Plan that has been submitted to the central government that has demanded to open a new gallery in the Museum which will showcase the statues of Radha and Krishna. The plan is to display the statues amidst the local flora and fauna.

Visitor Information

The Museum is open throughout the year from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm. The visitors have to pay for entry which is Rs. 5 for an adult and Rs. 2 for a child. Foreign Tourists have to pay Rs. 25 to visit the Museum. The total time needed to look around the Museum is approximately 1 to 2 hours. The Museum is located near the Dampier Park and has a beautiful aesthetically designed octagon shaped building constructed using red sandstone.

How to Reach

By Road

Mathura is located 145 kilometer from Delhi and 58 kilometer from Agra. Traveling by bus can take approximately 3 hours to reach Mathura. Even if you are travelling by your car or hire a taxi it would take 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Mathura by the NH2 highway.

By Train

All major trains stop at Mathura or at Delhi. There are many options to travel to Mathura from Delhi. Some of the major trains are Bhopal Shatapdi, Swaraj Express and Ghaziabad EMU. Express train called as Taj Express runs from Hazrat Nizamuddin Junction to Mathura.

By Air

The nearest airport to Mathura is Agra which is 58 kilometers from Mathura. Also one can stop at Delhi airport and travel by road which is the most convenient way.