Art Collection At A Museum
                     Museum of Art & Photography
Collections of the Museum
The Collections
MAP is custodian to a growing collection of over 18,000 
works of art,  predominantly from South Asia, dating 
from the 10th century to the present. 
MAP’s collection covers seven key areas: Modern & 
Contemporary, Photography, Living Traditions, Popular 
Culture,  Textiles, Craft & Design and Pre-Modern Art.
Portrait of a Barasingha,  1980–1990
Jangarh Singh Shyam
Poster colours on paper  H: 137 cm, W: 233 cm
4 Museum No: PTG.00061
The Poddar family, who are among the most prominent collectors of 
Indian art, are  the major contributors to the MAP collection, having PRE-MODERN ART
donated approximately half  of the objects currently owned. 
The Pre-Modern Art collection holds some of the most 
The Deepak  Puri Collection, one of the most significant contributions exemplary works  of Indian art like the following:
to MAP, is a generous gift from the former South Asia General Manager 
and  Photo Editor of Time Magazine. The 195 photographic prints, • manuscript paintings, including  masterpieces from 
represent one of the  most important private archives of 20th-century the Mughal, Jain, Rajput and Pahari school 
photojournalism in the country. traditions;  
•
MAP has also created a Living Cultures Initiative to assemble the Chola bronzes
•
finest  contemporary examples of Indian textiles, crafts and Temple art from Southern India; as well as Mysore 
design. and  Tanjore paintings
• Pichwais and paithan paintings
MAP’s advanced facility and conservation centre will 
represent the Museum’s global partners, artists and  collectors to s
hare their precious collections.
Brahmani, c. 1250
Limestone
H: 70 cm, W: 44 cm, D: 22cm  Museum No: 
PMA.00025
Bhagavata Puran, c. 1800
Salig Ram of Jaipur Workshop
Opaque watercolour on paper  H: 25.5 cm, W: 36 
cm
6 Museum No: PTG.00066
TEXTILES, CRAFT  & DESIGN
MAP’s Textiles, Craft and Design collection includes:
• Important textile traditions such as patolas, chintz hangings, 
kalamkaris, pahari  rumaals, phulkaris and kanthas
• Decorative arts such as furniture, design and jewellery that 
demonstrate the extraordinary technical expertise of artisans 
working in these fields.
Detail of a Pichwai,
late 18th to early 19th century
Block printed cotton with gold 
 L: 260 cm, W: 200 cm
Museum No: TXT.00589
A model of the Sansad Bhawan, c. 
1930s
Silver, coloured glass and 
electrical wiring  H: 25.5 cm, 
L: 30 cm, W: 30 cm (silver 
only);
With stand – H: 33 cm, L: 34.5 
cm, W: 34.5 cm  Museum No: 
SCU.00369
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LIVING TRADITIONS
The Living Traditions Art section of the collection displays: 
• Patua scrolls from Bengal
• Shadow puppets from Southern India
• Bhuta idols from Karnataka
• Religious terracottas from Tamil Nadu
It also contains works by some of India’s best-known contemporary 
artists, such as Jivya Soma Mashe’s Warli  paintings, the paintings of 
Jangarh Singh Shyam, and Mithila paintings by Baua Devi.
Peacock, c. 1990
Jangarh Singh Shyam
Poster colours on paper  H: 152 
cm, W: 125 cm
Museum No: PTG.00063
Untitled Warli Painting, c. 1990s
Jivya Soma Mashe
Natural pigments on cloth  
H: 64 cm, W: 92 cm  
Museum No: PTG.0871
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POPULAR CULTURE
Featured among MAP’s collections in this area are examples 
from India’s printing and advertising industry from the 19th 
century to the arrival of the digital age in the late-20th century.
 
Woodcut block prints, the oleographs of Raja Ravi Varma, 
Nathadwara collages, Kalighat paintings,  educational charts, 
textile labels, calendar art, commercial art, and a range of 
Bollywood paraphernalia, from lobby cards to posters, are all 
part of this section.
A Hindu Mobile Shrine, 1930s
Oleographic prints, wood, fabric and metal 
fixtures  H: 70 cm, W: 54.5, Depth: 26.2 
cm
Museum No: POP.00611
Textile label depicting a cloth merchant,  
early 20th century
Chromolithograph
H: 13.5 cm, W: 10.5 cm
Museum No: POP.01070
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PHOTOGRAPHY
The Photography collections of the Museum includes works from 
the 19th century by photographers such as Samuel Bourne, John 
Burke, Francis Frith, William  Johnson, Colin Roderick Murray, John 
Edward Saché, Charles Shepherd, E. Taurines and Raja Deen Dayal 
to 20th-century prints by significant photographers such as Henri 
Cartier-Bresson, Marc Riboud, Martine Franck, Raghu Rai and T.S. 
Satyan. 
The inclusion of work by contemporary photographers of India 
such as Dayanita Singh, Vivek Vilasini and  Gauri Gill makes this a 
comprehensive collection.
Punjab. Kurukshetra.  A Refugee 
Camp, 1947  Henri Cartier-Bresson
Silver gelatin print  H: 18 cm, 
W: 24 cm
Museum No: PHY.01764
Old Mosque at Khairatabad, 1892
Lala Deen Dayal
Two old men, Old Delhi, 1970
Raghu Rai Albumen print
H: 19 cm, W: 13 cm
Archival pigment print  H: Museum No: PHY.03620-21
46 cm, W: 69 cm  Museum 
No: TC.300
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MODERN &  
CONTEMPORARY ART
The Modern and Contemporary Art holdings offer a wide 
cross-section of the most significant trends and movements 
in Post-Independence Indian Art. 
Among the world renowned artists represented in MAP’s 
collection are  Jamini Roy, Bhupen Khakhar, Jyoti Bhatt, 
Mrinalini Mukherjee, Ravinder Reddy, Ravi Varma, 
Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Benode 
Behari Mukherjee, Ramkinkar Baij, M.F. Husain, J. 
Swaminathan, V.S. Gaitonde, K.G. Subramanian, Atul Dodiya, 
Jitish Kallat, Mithu Sen and  Riyas Komu.
Drummer, 1988
Tyeb Mehta
Oil on canvas
H: 115 cm, W: 90 cm
Museum No: MAC.00459
Mother Earth, c. 1980
Meera Mukherjee
Bronze
H: 41 cm, Dia: 90 cm  Museum No: 
MAC.00455
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MAP
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