Peshawar Museum
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
The Peshawar Museum was opened in 1907 commissioned by the Governor General of the North-West Frontier Province of British India or the British Raj (1858-1947). The original project was conceived in 1901 as a Durbar Hall to celebrate and commemorate the late Queen Victoria. It was also designed as a depository and eventually a museum to contain extensive Buddhist artefacts excavated within the province. At the time substantial funds were raised from the people of the province and support was secured from the Viceroy or Government of British India.
Malcolm McGregor was commissioned by the World Bank in June 2020 to consider the various risks and opportunities inherent in the museum following limited investment over the last decades. This project offers incredible potential to help change attitudes and to develop a renewed sense of pride for an entire region or even nation following years of decline in the wake of 9/11. A revitalised Peshawar Museum that was originally built as the ‘Queen Victoria Memorial Hall’ could help Pakistan, in the 21st Century, evolve its post-colonial position or narrative.
The overriding aim of the project is to better preserve and conserve this world class collection within the following parameters:
Research & Understanding – by allowing a deeper understanding about the collection through the review and reconsideration of each object in terms of quality, condition, provenance, original use, significance that will enable the development of an improved interpretation.
Interpretation & Outreach – by considering comprehensive redisplay of this significant Gandharan cultural collection in a way that breaks away from the dated, western-orientated format based on the 1910 layout describing the life of the Buddha to a thematic approach that will lead visitors to appreciate the quality and cosmopolitan nature of this ancient civilisation.