14 
THE INDIAN MUSEUM: 1814-1914. 
We next come to our archaeological collections, which 
are of unquestioned value to every serious student of Indian 
antiquities. The most considerable, and possibly the most 
attractive, portion of the specimens still consists of the 
statues, sculptured stones,.inscriptions and coins collected by 
the members of the Asiatic Society of Bengal or presented 
to that Institution by investigators in all parts of the 
country, before the establishment of the Indian Museum as 
a separate institution maintained from the public funds. 
Every student of Indian antiquities, who has in any degree 
made himself familiar with the contents of the “ Asiatick 
Researches” and of the “Journal of the Asiatic Society,” 
will recollect tiiat the names of many early contributors are 
closely connected with the specimens lent by the Society to 
the Indian Museum and now located in its buildings. Of this 
distinguished band of contributors, the name of General 
Alexander Cunningham stands out pre-eminent; and to him 
we owe the removal and preservation of the Bharut Stupa 
Rail, now one of the finest and most interesting existing 
relics of early Indian architecture. It is only necessary to 
add that since the archaeological section was placed under 
the Director General of Archaeology in 1910, many valuable 
coins, statues and other objects of interest have been de¬ 
posited in Calcutta ; amongst these, possibly the most notable 
addition to our collection consists of two stone figures, of a 
bull and a lion respectively, which date from the time 
of Asoka, and now stand erected at the entrance to the 
Museum. 
Before I leave the archaeological collections, I cannot 
but make a passing reference to our extensive collection of 
coins, many of them lent by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 
which were first catalogued by Mr. C. J. Rodgers and have 
only recently been exhaustively described ^ by such competent 
numismatists as Mr. Vincent Smith and Mr. Nelson Wright. 
Our industrial collections also are of exceptional impor¬ 
tance and form an extremely interesting group of objects. 
Some of these are specimens of industrial arts collected by 
At least one other volume of the recent catalogue is still to appear. 
