(In English 'Rupasi Bangla' means Beautiful Bengal)

The land which has the Ganga at its heart has demonstrated an uninterrupted and steady flow of art activities through the ages. The people of this land vanga mentioned in ancient literary texts and foreign accounts became identified with the name and country itself. The alluvial deposits of the Gangetic plains from time immemorial had been responsible for fashioning of art objects in clay. Modelling of sculptures in stone, though not much practised in the earlier epochs, gained importance in the early mediaeval days. Black basalt, commonly known as kasti pathar as quarried from the Rajmahal hills and elsewhere served the purpose of execution of sculpture. Copper, bell-metal and octo-alloy (astadhatu) were used for making of sculptures and household utensils.

The exhibits selected here are of varied nature with wider purpose - religious, ritualistic, decorative and educative. Proto-historic copper implement; early and mediaeval sculptures in stone, metal and terracotta; lithic examples of writing, decorative bricks and tiles from both the Hindu and Muslim architecture - in a word, a panoramic view of the artistic creations of the people living in ancient, medieval and modern Bengal, has been projected through ninety specimens of rich Bengal heritage from the collection of the Indian Museum.

The earliest specimen of craftsmanship is a finely carved copper celt from Perua, Midnapore which is a reminder of skilful peoples' hard struggle for their own existence. The small stone plaque recording royal relief to tide over an emergency caused by natural calamity, discovered from Mahasthangarh, now in Bangladesh is a significant document of famine stricken Bengal in the Maurya period. The early terracotta figurines from Chandraketugarh and Harinarayanpur situated in lower West Bengal mostly depict semi divine beings - the yakshas and yakshinis.

The bricks from the monastic sites of Mainamati and Paharpur depict the glimpses of life-style of the then society. Stone images of Hindu gods - Surya, Shiva, Vishnu, Sadashiva, Bhairava, Revanta, Ganesha; the goddesses Manasa and Chandi; the Buddhlst gods, and goddesses - Avalokltesvara, Hevajra, Lokesvara, Buddha, Heruka and Vasudhara; Jaina gods-Adinatha, Jina, Jina Chatrumukha; the temple terracottas depicting horse-rider from Masjidabati, gangavatrana from Birbhum, women playing tambourine from the same district, Radhakrishna from Baharampur, epigraphic documents like stone inscription recording the plunder of Calcutta by Sirajuddaula in 1756 A.D., and an Arabic inscription of 1480 A.D. from Malda are some of the remarkable exhibits of the show.