Asiatic Society

The Museum of the Asiatic Society is considered a main storehouse of information regarding the rich history of the land. The museum was established in 1814 and houses a large collection of manuscripts, paintings, sculptures, coins, bronzes and inscriptions. The famous paintings that are housed in this Museum are of Cleopatra, a ‘ghat’ at Benaras, Cupid asleep on cloud, Warren Hastings, John Dewitt, Wellesley and Infant Christ.

The library of the Asiatic Society is considered the crowning glory of the Asiatic Society. The unique and rich contents of the library make it a grand source of knowledge among the literary society of Kolkata. The major part of the collection comprises manuscripts and books that have been received as gifts, from the members, like Henri Richardson gifted to the Society several Persian manuscripts.

The collection of the Society has been divided into three categories, namely, Manuscripts and Archives, Printed Books and Periodicals and Museum Objects. There are four sections of the Printed Books Department, namely, European Languages, Perso-Arabic and Urdu Languages, Sanskritic and other Modern Indian Languages and Sino-Tibetan and South-Asian Languages.