Handbook on the Museums of Kerala

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I am extremely delighted to know that, the Centre for Heritage Studies is publishing a useful guidebook on the museums of Kerala. Very few people understand museums and their importance. Museums were seen generally as dull and lifeless entities, but that trend is gradually changing. Against this background, the publication of this guidebook by the Centre for Heritage Studies is a welcome step in promoting our cultural heritage.

The word 'museum' brings up different kinds of thought to different people. For some, it is a storehouse of treasures and curios of the past, while for others it may be a centre of learning that provides knowledge on various cultures or a place where dust covered objects are dumped in endless number of galleries. In India there is generally a lack of awareness among the public about the concept of museum and what it actually stands for, despite the nearly two-century old museum heritage. The milieu is gradually changing thanks to the initiatives of various individuals and institutions.

The term 'museum' derives from the Greek root mouseion, which means the temple of muses the nine Greek goddesses, who are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, according to the Greek mythology. These goddesses were revered as deities of various arts and crafts. Gradually, the term began to denote the place where antiquities and objects of arts, crafts and science are exhibited.

A Brief History

The history of museums can be traced back to the Classical period. The 'mouseion' of Alexandria, dating back to third century BC is considered the earliest museum. Though the Chinese, the Japanese and several other communities did have private collections of objects of cultural and natural heritage in the early periods, the modern public museum is a European brainchild. Thus the history of modern museums does not go beyond the 17th century. The Renaissance movement, exchange of goods and idea with the opening up of trade routes, colonization, the growth of the places of worship of different faiths and patronage by the kingdoms and churches contributed tremendously to the museum movement across the globe. Many museums were thrown open to the public from the 17th century onwards, important being the Louver Museum (the Louvre, the Museum de l'Histoire Naturelle, and the Musee des Arts et Metiers.), Paris; the British Museum, London; and Museum of Metropolitan Art, New York. The collections of these early museums not only upheld the patriotic fervour, but also provided a place of prominence to various objects acquired by the Western countries from their colonies. Several museums were also set up in the colonies in the 19th and 20 centuries, e.g. the Indian Museum of Calcutta (1814).

Over the years, the nature of museums has been changing. Earlier there were only archaeological or anthropological museums, but now there are museums for almost each and every subject or category of objects on the earth. Nowadays more private museums are coming up across the world.