Victoria Memorial

The Victoria Memorial stands at the southern end of the Maidan in central Kolkata, West Bengal, near the Hooghly River. It was proposed by Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and was funded largely by contributions from Indian princely states and individuals.

The building was designed by the architect William Emerson, assisted by Vincent Esch, who designed the north bridge, the garden gates and the Angel of Victory. The foundation stone was laid in 1906 by the Prince of Wales, the future George V, and the memorial opened in 1921. By then the capital of British India had moved from Calcutta to Delhi.

The building is faced with white Makrana marble from Rajasthan, the same source used for the Taj Mahal, and combines British and Italian Renaissance forms with Mughal domes and details. A bronze Angel of Victory, about 4.9 metres tall, stands on top of the central dome. Inside, the museum has around 25 galleries with paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, arms and textiles, including the largest single collection of works by Thomas and William Daniell. The Calcutta Gallery covers the history of the city. The memorial stands in about 26 hectares of gardens with statues and ponds.

The memorial is managed by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India. Separate tickets are sold for the gardens and the museum, with higher rates for foreign nationals. The museum is closed on Mondays and national holidays, while the gardens open daily. An evening sound and light show runs except on Mondays, national holidays and from July to September.

The memorial measures 103 by 69 metres and rises 56 metres to the top of the dome. It cost about 1.05 crore rupees, all raised by voluntary subscriptions from officials, princes and the public. Martin & Co. of Calcutta built it, and work on the superstructure began in 1910. The central chamber is 20 metres across, made slightly larger than the one in the Taj Mahal on purpose.

Several works honour the queen herself. Thomas Brock's statue of Victoria in coronation robes stands in the central hall, and twelve canvas lunettes by Frank Owen Salisbury in the rotunda show scenes from her life. The Royal Gallery holds her childhood rosewood piano, given by Edward VII. In the gardens, George Frampton's bronze statue shows her seated on the throne, set on the bridge designed by Esch.

The collection runs to about 50,000 items, and the memorial draws about 5 million visitors a year. The gardens have charged an entry fee since a 2004 order of the High Court.