History and Classical Art

Established on 27 December 1975, the Department of History and Classical Art is the largest Curatorial Department. Its collections, which are varied, constitute the largest repository of Bangladesh National Museum, the total number being about 67,000. The collections include specimens of prehistory, pottery and other objects of archaeological interest, stone sculptures and architectural members, wooden sculptures and architectural members, copper, bronze and brass images, terracotta plaques, epigraphs, coins, jewelry, manuscripts, documents, miniatures, specimens of calligraphy, portraits, mementos of great and important persons, and objects pertaining to the Liberation Struggle of Bangladesh. The earliest object is a Paleolithic scrapper made of petrified wood. This Department's single largest collection is its numismatic repository, which includes gold, silver and copper coins from all periods of Bengal and Indian history. It possesses an enormous collection of sculptures in stone, wood and metal, and these sculptures include many masterpieces of Bengal art. It has a significant collection of stone inscriptions and copperplate. Its numismatic and epigraphic collections have been very crucial to the study of ancient and medieval Bengal. A thematic exhibition of great interest on Liberation Struggle of Bangladesh: Bangalee Bangladesh Liberation War, opened to the public on 16 December 2009, is a new addition to this Department. This thematic exhibition is being expanded to cover a longer period of time (23 June 1757-16 December 1971). Moreover, another thematic exhibition on Post-Liberation Bangladesh (17 December 1971-31 December 1975) is in the process of being established. Both these thematic exhibitions will acquire new dimensions with multimedia projection, especially light and sound which is being installed in Gallery No. 38. The main functions of the Department of History and Classical Art are to collect, preserve and document objects, study the aesthetic and technological aspects of objects, hold lectures, seminars and symposia, and publish anthologies, catalogues and folders.