The Archaeological Museum at Sanchi, founded in 1919 by Sir John Marshall and moved to its present site in 1966, serves as a repository of Buddhist art and architecture that spans more than a millennium. It stands near the Sanchi Stupas and supports an understanding of the historical setting of the region. The museum contains a main hall and four galleries, with additional displays arranged in a veranda and open courtyards, which together shape its interpretive plan.

Collections

The collections represent six cultural periods from the Mauryan to the late Gupta era between three hundred BCE and seven hundred CE. The renowned Lion Capital of Ashoka forms the centrepiece of the holdings. Other notable works include figures of the Bodhisattvas Padmapani and Vajrapani, a Satavahana Yakshi in tribhanga posture and a post Gupta Nagaraja. The galleries contain Buddhist sculptures, miniature images, iron tools, terracotta plaques and sandstone figures, including replicas of pillar capitals. Votive stupas, plaques of deities such as Vishnu, Mahisasuramardini and Lajja Gauri and a distinctive dancing lady with musicians enrich the record of ancient artistic traditions.