Arakkal Palace Museum to have art gallery

September 07, 2011 07:02 pm | Updated 07:02 pm IST - KANNUR:

The Arakkal Palace Museum that houses art and artefacts from the erstwhile Muslim principality here will have a permanent art gallery as an Onam gift for visitors.

The art gallery has been established inside the museum, located in a renovated 200-year old building that formed part of the Arakkal ‘kettu' (complex), the seat of the Arakkal royal house.

The gallery will be opened on Thiruvonam day on Friday. Nearly 30 paintings by 18 artists will be exhibited to mark the inauguration.

A press release issued by the Arakkal Family Trust here said the gallery would come up on the ground floor and the top floor of the two-storey building. All the paintings being exhibited in connection with the inauguration would depict the history of the Malabar region and the contemporary issues there. The exhibition would begin at 3 p.m. on Friday.

The museum showcases the history of the Arakkal royal family and the influence it exercised in the region. Old records, maps, drawings of surveys, and manuscripts highlighting the maritime activities of the Muslim royal family, its monopoly on the spices trade, and relationship with European colonial powers are on display. The Arakkal family, which in its heyday controlled the Maldives and Lakshadweep, had cultivated good relations with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, and the Dutch, among others.

The building that houses the museum was renovated under a project funded by the Tourism Department. The museum was inaugurated in 2005 by the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. It was closed recently for repair and maintenance works.

E. Mohamed Afzal, trust advisor, said the museum would be reopened on Friday. An exhibition of paintings in the museum would also be held at the gallery. It would be titled ‘Dutch in Kerala.' He said more programmes would be held at the gallery in collaboration with the Kerala Folklore Akademi.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.