THE F. D. ALPAIWALA MUSEUM
The Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum was set up by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet in 1954 and is housed in the Khareghat Memorial Building, Mumbai. The F.D. Alpaiwalla Museum is an archaeological and ethnographic museum and its collection reflects the rich heritage of the Parsis of India and the Iranian Zoroastrians of Iran. It is a unique institution as it is the only Museum in the world dedicated to the Parsis and Iranian Zoroastrians.
Rare items including those from Persia are placed in this Museum which is situated at Khareghat Colony.
It has two large distinct collections; the antiquities and artefacts in the collection F D Alpaiwala and the rare archaeological finds from Susa, Iran donated by the scholar-priest, Ervad (Dr) Jamshed Unvala. Small, yet significant, the F D Alpaiwala is the only museum that documents Parsi history, culture and religion. Its museum-worthy collection includes:
- Archaeological finds from Susa and Yazd in Iran
- Religious manuscripts and ritual implements
- Zoroastrian manuscripts of the yasna, as well as manuscripts of the Vendidad.
- Old photographs and postcards documenting early development of Bombay ( Mumbai);.
- A firman of Emperor Jehangir issued in 1618 CE granting a jagir (a type of land grant) of 100 bighas (4 bighas = 1 acre) to two Parsis of Navsari
- The collection also includes the calling card of Dadabhai Naoroji, when he was elected to the British House of Commons between 1892 and 1895.
- Chinaware reflecting the trade ties the Parsi merchants had with China when they owned ships and traded in cotton, opium, and other commodities.
- Furniture owned by early Parsis reflecting European influences in the lifestyle of Parsi merchants.
- Several Parsi portraits and textiles such as tanchois and garas.
- It is intended to create a walk in Fire Temple for the benefit of visitors curious about the Zoroastrian form of worship.
In 2013 for the first time, objects of antiquities were loaned by the F D Alpaiwalla Museum, to exhibitions abroad and in India as part of a programme of cultural exchange and diversity.
- In 2013 objects from the F D Aplaiwalla collection were exhibited at the Brunei Gallery, London, for the SOAS Exhibition entitled, The Everlasting Flame – Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination.
- In December of 2013 as part of the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress artefacts and antiquities from the Alpaiwalla Museum were exhibited at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, for the exhibition Across Oceans and Flowing Silks From Canton to Bombay 18th and 19th Centuries and No Parsi Is an Island.
- In 2016 objects from the Museum were loaned to the Everlasting Flame International Programme, to three International Exhibitions showcased in Delhi. The Everlasting Flame – Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination, Painted Encounters Parsi Traders and the Community and Threads of Continuity.
Presently:
The Museum is under restoration and has received a grant from the Culture Ministry, Government of India for the upgradation and restoration of its objects.
The first phase of the restoration of the museum building has been supported by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet.
The Museum, when completed, will present a visual narrative of the history of Zoroastrianism, and the rich culture and heritage of its people the Parsis and Iranian Zoroastrians.
The museum primarily has two overall goals; to preserve the identity, culture and religious history of the Parsi Iranian Zoroastrian community and to reach out to the larger world and present the diversity of India within which the Zoroastrians have lived and flourished.
Curator: Nivedita Mehta
Honorary Directors: Pheroza J. Godrej and Firoza Punthakey Mistree
Contact Details
| Name | Number | |
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Kerman Fatakia |
9819613621 |
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