Star attractions at the New Delhi Museum Expo

An ornate palanquin from the mid-19th century, a royal chair used at the 1911 Delhi Durbar, several other ancient artefacts and a digital version of the famed Didarganj Yakshi of Patna are among the „star objects“ exhibited at the ongoing International Museum Expo in Delhi, inaugurated on Thursday. The scale of participation in this three day event is huge and about 1,200 museums and cultural institutions have taken part in its various segments. After the event was inaugurated, many delegates and visitors streamed in to see the „star objects“ in their physical or virtual forms.

1911 DELHI DURBAR CHAIR
A royal chair from the 1911 Delhi Durbar, a grand ceremonial event held to announce the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary is attracting eyeballs at the exhibition. The chair was made for the then ruler of Mewar (Udaipur) Maharana Fateh Singh for the 1911 Delhi Durbar.
The exquisite 112-year-old chair belongs to The City Palace Museum, Udaipur and is attracting a lot of audience at the exhibition.“This traditional-style wooden chair is a magnificent handwork of vintage furniture. Its serpentine arms terminate in lion heads over the square red velvet upholstered seat, supported by double scroll legs terminating in scrolling ball feet,“ the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation official told. The backrest of the chair bears the insignia of the house of Mewar with the royal cypher of King George V above it in relief.

19TH CENTURY PALKI
A large palanquin with ornamental design on the wooden cabin and antique chamber made around 1850 and a marriage litter (‚rahi‘) from the 19th-20th century from the Santhal region of Jharkhand are also on display.

DIGITAL YAKSHI
The exhibition has been divided into four thematic segments and Patna‘s famed Didarganj Yakshi in a digital avatar is part of the ‚Human Body, Beauty and Wellbeing‘ section. Yakshi or the Chauri-bearer, as she is also referred to, was found on the muddy banks of the Ganga at Didarganj on the outskirts of Patna in 1917, the same year the Patna Museum was founded. Since then it has remained one of the star attractions of the museum. The statue is 5 feet 2 inches tall and placed on a pedestal made with Chunar sandstone and finished to an incredible mirror-like polish. At the Expo, the Yakshi has been represented in a rotating holographic image form and as it cannot be taken out of the museum, so they have shared a digital replica of it.