Google Cultural Institute Brings Mumbai's Oldest Museum Online

Google Cultural Institute, the company's ambitious effort to bring the world's foremost artwork from historical sites around the world to the Web, has added Mumbai's oldest museum to its digital collection.

The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, established in 1872 as Bombay's Victoria & Albert Museum, has more than 200 artefacts in its collection ranging from late 18th-century to early 20th-century. Over time, this has been boosted by the addition of contemporary artwork via exhibitions that are displayed at the museum. All of the over 200 artefacts can now be seen on the project website.

"Through this initiative, Mumbai's oldest museum's collection and exhibitions will now be accessible to people around the world who do not have the opportunity to travel and visit the museum," Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, the museum's director and managing trustee, said in a statement.

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The museum's highlights such as the carved in ivory Radha Krishna, a miniature model of Emperor Jehangir while on a lion hunt, and a 1928 famous painting of a courtroom scene, have all been scanned in ultra-high definition to bring out the rich detail.

And thanks to Museum View, you can take a 360-degree virtual tour around the premises. This was made possible with the help of a specially-designed 'trolley' that captured 360-degree images of a chosen few galleries which were then stitched together later, akin to what Google does with Street View around the world. The six galleries that can be viewed include the Industrial Arts Gallery, the 19th-century Paintings Gallery and the Kamalnayan Bajaj Mumbai gallery.

The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum underwent an elaborate restoration process for five years at the turn of the century, and the Cultural Institute will also host pictures of the museum before and after said work.

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Since taking off in 2011, the Google-backed project has brought over 200,000 artworks from around the globe onto its network. Cultural Institute director Amit Sood said he hopes this can help preserve and bring renewed interest to some of the world's most important cultural treasures.

"The mission of the Cultural Institute is to make the world's heritage accessible for global audiences and to preserve it digitally for generations to come," he added.