Government Museum, Chennai

The Government Museum in Chennai was founded in 1851, making it the second-oldest museum in India after the one in Kolkata. Housed in an Indo-Saracenic building, it holds Hindu, Buddhist and Jain sculpture, Pallava-era carvings, remains of the Buddhist site at Amaravati, coins, and reputedly the biggest holding of Roman antiquities anywhere outside Europe. Its bronze gallery spans works from the 7th century to modern times, among them Nataraja and Chola figures of Ardhanarishvara.

The main building also has anthropology, zoology, botany and philately galleries, while the front building covers puppets, folk art and music. The campus includes the National Art Gallery, a contemporary art gallery, a children's museum and paintings by Raja Ravi Varma. Jawaharlal Nehru attended its centenary in 1951.