Dr.R.Nagaswamy #6B8E23 [The National Museum in Denmark, houses a fine collection of utility objects. Some of them date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Editor] {This article was published under the heading "The Indian Collection" by the Hindu.R.N} Any Danish visitor (and there are thousands daily} to the Indian section of the National Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, would at once realize that Indian history and culture, have a bearing on his country's tradition because of its contact with Tanjore Country in the 17th, 18th and 19th century A.D. The Indian section does not confine itself to ancient art objects, but includes utility articles such as vessels, textiles etc. which give a holistic view of Indian life. During my recent visit, I found the National Museum thoroughly reorganised in a more attractive way. I had visited this Museum, 15 years ago in its old setting when it had five rooms for Indian arts. The prime collection then was the large number of Hoysala sculptures which came from famous sites like Halebid, Belur, Siddhapura, Hariharapura, and other places in Karnataka. They were collected between 1894 and 1900, by Rev. Edward Loventhal, a Danish Missionary, who worked in Vellore from 1872 to 1914. Loventhal was an earnest art collector. When he first went to Halebid, he noticed many sculptures lying around: when he returned later to collect them, he was informed that they belonged to the State of Mysore and that no one could remove them. He was disappointed. Later, he met a man who had at the threshold of his house, a long panel of Saptamatas. Loventhal succeeded in persuading him to sell it for a paltry "sum of Rs. 2 and a pair of spectacles." Loventhal also tried to acquire sculptures, through B.L. Rice. the then Director of the Mysore Archaeological Department. But this Britisher, refused to oblige. Loventhal knew that it was "illegal in the Mysore State to remove monuments of historical importance. but he also knew that the people in the villages were least aware of this law and that it would not be difficult to persuade them to obtain whatever one liked with the backing of proper persons!" Later, he met the Prime Minister of Mysore State and obtained the required gifts. Most of these Hoysala sculptures, which were on display at the National Museum, have now been removed to the reserve collection, to give space for objects of daily life. The most important objects from Tranquebar on show are the bronzes of Nataraja, Sivakami, Ganesa, (and a Somaskanda.) Obviously they belonged to the Masilamanisvara temple, Tranquebar. They were collected by Peter Anker, the then Danish Governor of Tranquebar (from 1788 to 1806). He took keen interest in arts and was a painter too. His paintings are now in the Ethnographical Museum. Oslo. When these bronzes were found, Anker acquired them and took them to Denmark when he left Tranquebar. After his death, these bronzes were sold to Christian VIII, the King of Denmark and are now on show at the National Museu. Denmark imported porcelain vases from the Far East, especially from China, but these were believed by common Danish people as coming from Tranquebar and were called Tranquebar porcelain. Also on display are 18th century textiles from Tranquebar which are not seen in Indian Museums. There are also terracotta deities from Kerala, colourful masks and puppets from Karnataka, a large painting of the Puri temple and some modern figures of Durga from Bengal. There are over 600 Indian bronzes, most of them small, used in domestic worship and of recent origin. These and other objects of utility were collected by Werner Jacobson who was a great friend of India. The National Museum, Copenhagen, is the first to have catalogued the Indian collection through a sophisticated computer installation, which enables the visitor to view the entire collection in a short span of time and select the required object for study. I was particularly struck by two paintings in the collection. Both turned out to be contemporary portraits of the Maratha ruler, Serfoji II. One painted when he was 25 and the other when he was around 45. When Serfoil was crowned ruler of Tanjore, Peter Anker was the Governor of Danish settlements at Tranquebar. It is likely that the two portraits were in his collection.II R. NAGASWAMY The Hindu, March, Sunday 13, 1994.