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National Museum of Pakistan was established in Frere
Hall on April 17, 1950, replacing the defunct Victoria Museum. Frere
Hall itself was built in 1865 as a tribute to Sir Bartle Frere, a
Commissioner of Sind during the 19th century.
Once the Museum was inaugurated then the Government of Pakistan deemed
it wise to constitute an Advisory Council in 1950 with a primary duty to
counsel the Museum on the issues of enriching its collection through new
acquisitions and purchase of antiquities and works of Arts.The Museum
was shifted to the present premises (located in Burnes Garden, Dr. Zia-ud-din
Road) in 1970.
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The basic objective of establishing National Museum was to collect,
preserve, study, and exhibit the records of the cultural history of
Pakistan and to promote a learned insight into the personality of its
people.
In 1970 there were only four galleries in the Museum. However, at
present there are a total of 11 Galleries in the Museum including an
exquisite “Quran Gallery”. As a matter of fact National Museum has more
than 300 copies of the Quran (all are exactly the same), out of which
around 52 rare manuscripts are on display in “Quran Gallery”.
The Museum also contains an important collection of items relating to
Pakistan's Cultural heritage. Some other galleries display Indus
Civilization artifacts, Gandhara Civilization Sculptures, Islamic Art,
Miniature Paintings, Ancient Coins and Manuscripts documenting
Pakistan's Political History. There is also an interesting Ethnological
Gallery with life size statues of different ethnicities living in the
four provinces of Pakistan.
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The Museum has a collection of 58,000 old coins (some dating from 74 Al-Hijra),
and hundreds of well preserved sculptures.
Some 70,000 publications, books and other reading material of the
Archeology and Museums Department were also shifted to the National
Museum so that general public could see them. Every year National Museum
holds around a dozen exhibitions on National Days and other occasions.
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For the preservation of the collection, a conservation laboratory is
also a part of the Museum. The Museum premises also has an auditorium
with 250 seating capacity.
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