WORKSHOP ON

MAKING OF MUSEUM COLLECTIONS,With Special Reference To Gandhara

(India International Centre, New el!i, "#$"% A&ril '")*

C!arle+ Ma++on A Footloo+e Anti-.arian inA/0!ani+tan and 1.ildin0 .& o/ N.2i+2ati3 Colle3tion+ in

t!e M.+e.2+ in India and En0land

San4a5 Gar0e&.t5 ire3tor, National Ar3!i6e+ o/ India,

Mini+tr5 o/ C.lt.re,New el!i "" " (INIA*

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A;STRACT

 The name of Charles Masson (1800-53) towers high amongst numerousamateur antiquarians of the nineteenth century who traverse through thelan north of !un"a#$ an iscovere sites an antiquities #elonging to theancient %ingoms of the &no-'actrians$ the &no-ree%s$ the ushanas anseveral other ynasties*

'etween 1833 an 1838 Masson e+,lore or e+cavate nearly ftymonuments in the vicinity of !eshawar an a#ul an amasse a staggeringamount of antiquities* These inclue a large num#er of coins$ of which the'ritish Museum receive a su#stantial share of them* .ther reci,ients of theMasson/s coin collection were the siatic ociety$ Calcutta 2ol%ata$shmolean Museum$ .+for an the 4itwilliam Museum$ Cam#rige*

 The story of Masson/s antique-collecting esca,aes in fghanistanuring the years ,receing the 4irst nglo-fghan 6ar (1837-9)$ an thesu#sequent is,ersal of his fa#ulous collection of antiquities$ which inclueseals$ #eas$ ingots$ weights$ ornaments$ ,laques$ scul,tures$ reliquaries(cas%ets$ #o+es$ an #owls)$ arrow-heas$ iscs$ amulets$ #uttons etc*together with an estimate :0$000 coins$ in various museums of &nia an;nglan$ lie scattere in the o<cial archives of the 'ritish ;ast &niaCom,any as well in his ,rivate corres,onence*

'ase on these archival sources$ this ,a,er woul attem,t to ,resent acoherent narrative of the coins iscovere an collecte #y Masson an howhis iscoveries galvanise the e=orts of his contem,orary$ >ames !rinse,(1?77-180) in eci,hering the ancient &nian scri,ts$ an hel,e museumsin &nia an ;nglan to #uil an im,ressive numismatic collection from this,art of the worl*