THE ART SECTION. 
39 
Museum and the Government Art Gallery were, as already 
stated, amalgamated to form the Art Section of the Indian 
Museum. Previous to this date the Principal of the Govern¬ 
ment School of Art, Calcutta, held charge of the Government 
Art Gallery only, but on the amalgamation he took over 
charge from the Reporter on Economic Products to the 
Government of India of the Artware Court and the entire 
new section came under his control. 
The work during the year 1911-12 was mainly the trans¬ 
fer of the two collections from their original location, and 
their accommodation and arrangement in the new wing of 
the Museum on the first floor allotted to the Art Section. 
The new building was completed on the 1st September, 1911, 
and a sum of Rs. 50,000 was put aside by the Trustees for 
providing fittings for this gallery, this sum being met from a 
special grant made to the Trustees for the improvement of 
the Museum by Lord Curzon’s Government in 1904. 
Immediately the construction of an entire outfit of new 
glass cases was commenced. The Government of India 
having expressed a desire that the collection should, if pos¬ 
sible, be on view to the public at the time of the royal visit 
in December, in spite of the limited time thus allowed, 
special efforts were made to accomplish this. The cases were 
designed and constructed in Calcutta by Chinese carpenters 
in the short space of two and a half months, leaving the 
remainder of the time, one and a half months, for the trans¬ 
fer, assortment, and display of the combined collections. 
Some idea of the work involved may be gained by the fact 
that the cases constructed were 68 in number, and the objects 
exhibited amount to over 10,000. The fine art collection also 
comprises some 714 pictures, all of which had to be glazed, 
framed and hung. As a fitting conclusion to this strenuous 
piece of work. Their Imperial Majesties were the first visitors 
to the Art Section in its reorganized state. 
The general arrangements of the art collections may now 
be described. Here it seems necessary to remark that the 
question of classification in all art museums has ever been a 
difficult one; but the balance of expert opinion has usually 
