The Directorate of Archaeology, Government of West Bengal came into existence on 1st August, 1958, with a view to superivise the conservation of historical monuments a task, until then conducted by the engineers of the Public Works Department. Since then, the staff of the Directorate have done much to explicate the past patterns of life in Bengal, through exploration and excavation of hundreds of archaeological sites spread all over the State. It is due to their untiring efforts ancient Bengal is much better understood today.
In course of several sessions of field-work, the staff members of the Directorate collected large number of archaeological materials with significant bearing on different period of Bengal's past. These included Palacolithic and Neolithic artefacts, antiquities of the Chalcolithic period, terracotta figurines attributed to the early centuries of Christian era, stone sculptures mostly of the Pala-Sena period, medieval paintings, coins and folk bronzes. The collection was further enriched by generous gift of people interested in art and archaeology.
It was felt that the collection must be made available to the researchers and common man. Accordingly, the State Archaeological Gallery was inaugurated on 15th June, 1962 on the first floor of 33, Chittaranjan Avenue in Calcutta. While inaugurating the Gallery, Sri K. N. Dasgupta, the then Minister of the Public Works Department, asserted that "this gallery would one day develop into a large treasure-house of antiquities and relics eloquent of past achievements of human cultures and art."
The collection of the Directorate continued to grow both in scope and size. And, the space available at the rented building could not meet the requirements of an expanding collection. Consequently, it was shifted to an impressive early 20th century building at Behala (1, Satyen Roy Road, Calcutta 700 034). The building was donated to the Government of West Bengal by Smt. Kamala Roy. The State Archaeological Gallery now redesignated as State Archaeological Museum, was formally thrown open to the public on 16th August. 1980 by Sri Jyoti Basu, Chief Minister, West Bengal. A booklet entitled An Introduction to the State Archaeological Gallery, West Bengal by P. C. Dasgupta, former Director of Archaeology, was published in 1963. For the last two decades, it was the only available handbook on the museum collection. In view of the growing interest on the Archaeology of West Bengal, the Directorate decided to bring out a series of publications highlighting the collection of State Archaeological Museum. Accordingly. Treasures of the State Archaeological Museum, West Bengal was launched.
The series is intended as a popular but authentic introduction to the Museum collection. The short texts attempt to provide a dependable statement on a particular genre of archaeological material. A detailed bibliography has been added for those who intend to take it up on a scholarly level. The list of illustrations gives all the necessary details like Museum No., size, material, findspot and chronology. More titles in this series will follow in the coming years.
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