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Palace treasures

The magnificent Hill Palace is a veritable treasure trove of curiosities. There are about seventeen major categories of antique exhibits in the galleries. One among the extraordinary exhibits is the elephant anterior, which is the imposing model of the front of an elephant with its tusks in original ivory and the head and trunk sculpted in rose wood.

Another item of immense historical beauty and equal beauty is the crown of the worn by the kings of the Cochin dynasty. The meticulously crafted crown weighs 1.75 kg and is set with emeralds, rubies and diamonds. Then there are the various galleries - of paintings, porcelains, jewellery, manuscripts and epigraphy. The museum has one of the best collections of coins. The gallery of wood carvings has the Nandikesan, the Nagaveena, Ganesha on a lotus etc and the painting gallery has besides paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, paintings by some of his contemporaries along with some eye-catching Tanjore paintings.

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