Peshawar Museum

The Peshawar Museum (Urdu: پشاور میوزیم_(colloquial)_; پشاور عجائب گھر (official)) is a museum in the city of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

This museum has many important items, especially artwork from an ancient place called Gandhara.

Visitors can see beautiful statues and other objects that tell stories from long ago. These items help us learn about the history and culture of the people who lived in Gandhara many centuries ago. The Peshawar Museum is a special place for anyone who wants to learn about the past.

Background

The Peshawar Museum was founded in 1907 and was called "Victoria Hall" to honor Queen Victoria. The building has two stories and mixes British, Hindu, Buddhist, and Mughal Islamic styles.

At first, the museum had one exhibition hall. Two more halls were added in 1969–70. In 2004–05, the museum grew with a new block that included two galleries, storage space, offices, a lab, and a cafeteria. The old exhibition hall was also updated during this time.

Collection

The Peshawar Museum has a big collection of about 14,000 items. These items come from many different cultures, like Gandhara, Greco-Buddhist, Kushan, Parthian, and Indo-Scythian. You can see art, sculptures, coins, old books, weapons, jewelry, and more.

The museum shows lots of Gandhara art from the Buddhist time. This includes stone sculptures of Buddha, small terracotta figures, and other Buddhist things. The main hall has stories from Buddha's life, special worship items, and statues of Buddha.

The museum also has many coins, with 8,625 in total. Many of these coins are from before Islam. They were found at places like Shah-Ji-Ki-Dheri and Shari Bahlol. The coins show designs from Bactrian Greek, Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian, Indo-Parthian, and Kushan times.

You can also see art from Mughal and Persian times. This includes wooden parts of old mosques, old writing in Arabic and Persian, beautiful tiles, and clothes and weapons from important leaders like Syed Ahmad Barelvi.

The museum also has items from the time of British rule up to today. These show the culture of tribes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the Kalash people. There are old weapons like swords, bows, and guns on display too.

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  Standing Buddha

Seated Bodhisattva

[Sahri Bahlol](/wiki/Sahri_Bahlol) Buddha, excavated 1909-1910