Salar Jung Museum

Salar Jung Museum, in Hyderabad, holds one of the largest single-person art collections in the world, assembled by Salar Jung III, a former Prime Minister of Hyderabad state, encompassing artefacts from across the globe including European sculpture, Persian carpets, Chinese ceramics and Indian miniature paintings. The museum's eclectic, genuinely international scope distinguishes it from most Indian museums, which typically focus more narrowly on regional or national heritage.

Among its most famous exhibits is a mechanical musical clock that performs a small figure striking a bell on the hour, along with the celebrated 'Veiled Rebecca' marble sculpture, whose intricately carved translucent veil remains a particular visitor favourite for the sheer technical skill it demonstrates.

The collection was almost entirely assembled by Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, Salar Jung III, over decades of personal acquisition, and following his death in 1949, the collection was donated to the nation, forming the basis of what is now one of India's most significant and eclectic museums.

In central Hyderabad, easily reached by road.