Residential Museum

A little lane by the side of the main palace, lined with souvenir shops, leads to the Residential Museum. It is not large but it is filled with paintings from the Thanjavur and Mysore schools, inlaid with precious stones and gold leaf. The museum also houses a collection of royal silver ware, musical instruments, crystal, chandeliers, children’s toys, furniture, royal trousseaux, and such others. But the most fascinating aspect is the armoury with its quaint and fierce looking implements including pistols, guns and other weapons. Many of the 725 weapons and military exhibits in the palace have aesthetic as well as historic value. Some of the weapons belonged to the rulers of Mysore, such as the sword that belonged to Kantirava Narasaraja Wadiyar, who ruled from 1638 to 1659, and those that belonged to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. They also have interesting inscriptions, such as the one found on a gun captured under Wellesley in 1803. Weapons ranging from swords to maces, daggers and their gripped relatives pachakatari, bows, arrows, spears, lances, cannons, and even deadly walking sticks are displayed. Helmets, armour and shields also form part of the collection.