Rare, ancient artefacts antiques gather dust in storeroom of Bamu museum

AURANGABAD: Hundreds of rare coins, ancient paintings and artefacts are gathering dust in the conservation store-room of the museum of the History department at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University due to lack of adequate display space.
Located in the heart of the university campus, the department of History museum was founded in 1975. The collection of the museum includes stone sculptures dating back to the second century BC, 60 rare paintings, including some depicting the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, utensils from the medieval era, armour, cannons and weapons from the Moghul period and Shivaji's era, centuries-old utensils found at a site in Bhokardan in Jalna district and rare coins, including punch-marked coins and those dating back to the Satavahana dynasty's rule.
Over 5,000 rare antiques have been collected in the museum in the last three decades; some donated by passionate collectors from their personal collections. "We have many more rare artefacts, paintings from the Moghul, Maratha and British eras, rare lithographs, coins and ancient stone sculptures and utensils, than what is now put on display. We will need at least two to three more galleries to put the entire collection on display," said Umesh Bagade, head of the department of History at BAMU. Currently, two galleries are used for the museum's display.
"We are completely dependent on funds provided by the culture ministry and the university. Sometime back, we had received Rs 21 lakh under the head of strengthening and promotion of regional museums. We have spent the entire amount on the museum's upkeep. After a detailed report of the expenditures is submitted, we will propose a grant of Rs 2 crore. We desperately need galleries to display the rare antiques we own," Bagade said.
Museum officials said that the punch-marked coins, one of the earliest types of coinage used in India, date back between the 6{+t}{+h} and 2nd centuries BC. Out of these, at least 93 are gold punch-marked coins. There are also over 150 rare lithographs on Ellora alone.
The museum receives 3,000 visitors on an average every month. "If displayed properly, the collection will be a attraction a lot of research students, foreign visitors and public," said Bagade.