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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.[2] The Memorial lies on the Maidan (grounds) by the bank of the Hooghly river, near Jawaharlal Nehru road.[3][4]
In January 1901, on the death of Queen Victoria,[5] Viceroy of India, suggested the creation of a fitting memorial. He proposed the construction of a grand building with a museum and gardens.[6] Curzon said,
The Prince of Wales, later King George V, laid the foundation stone on 4 January 1906 and it was formally opened to the public in 1921.[8] In 1912, before the Victoria Memorial was finished, [9] Thus, the Victoria Memorial was built in what would be a provincial city rather than a capital.
The Victoria Memorial was funded by many Indian states, individuals of the British Raj and the British government in London.[7] 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[10]
The Victoria Memorial's architect was William Emerson (1843–1924), president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.[11][12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.
Emerson was a pupil of William Burges and an architectural theorist. He first visited India in about 1860. Emerson designed the Crawford Market, Mumbai (1865);[15] the All Saints Cathedral, Allahabad (1871);[16] and Muir College (1873)[17] Emerson moved to the princely state of Bhavnagar, Gujrat and designed the Takhtsingji Hospital and the Nilambagh Palace. There, he learned to include Hindu architectural elements in his works.[18]
In 1899, Esch was appointed assistant engineer at the Bengal Nagpur Railway, a job which gave him much practical experience in large-scale construction and costings.[19] In 1902, Emerson engaged Esch to sketch his original design for the Victoria Memorial. After designing the temporary exhibition building for the Delhi Durbar of 1903, Curzon found Esch to be a suitable assistant for Emerson.[20] Esch had also won a competition to design the Bengal Club building at Chowringhee[7] and the Bengal-Napur Railway head office building at Garden Reach.
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.[21] 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.
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.
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[14] 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.
The Victoria Memorial has a number of galleries, 25 in all.[22] 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 (1749–1840) and his nephew, William Daniell (1769–1837).[23] 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.[24][25]
The Royal Gallery displays a number of portraits of Victoria and 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. 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.[26][27] [28]
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.[7] 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.[29]
Sunset.
Illumination.
Sunny day.
The South side
Morning, winter day.
Dusk.
Facade.
Main entrance.
Lakes.
Gardens.
Reflecting pool.
Horse carriages.
Lion.
Statue of Lord Curzon.
Statue of Andrew H. L. Fraser Lt. Governor of Bengal 1903 - 1908.
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