CSMVS

The museum & the collection

Located at the southern tip of Mumbai in the heart of the historic Kala Ghoda district, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) is one of India’s premier art and history museums. It is committed to offering engaging, inclusive experiences that highlight India’s rich cultural heritage. The museum’s Ancient World Gallery presents key moments that have profoundly influenced human society, viewed through a thematic rather than a purely chronological framework. The new Study Gallery brings together over 300 artifacts from globally respected institutions, including the British Museum, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and the Museum Rietberg. These objects include original works of classical art from the cultures of ancient India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

The assignment & the challenges

CSMVS entrusted Meyvaert with the supply and installation of 36 high-specification showcases for its new Ancient World Gallery. We were selected through a competitive international tender, which stipulated that the casework meet the exacting conservation, security, and technical standards demanded by world-renowned lending institutions, thereby ensuring the appropriate presentation, preservation, and protection of an exceptional collection of loaned antiquities. Given the gallery's temporary setup, the display solutions possess a high degree of modularity and adaptability for future use. 

We designed display cases with fully removable back panels, facilitating easy reconfiguration for subsequent exhibitions. The project was executed on an accelerated schedule, which demanded minimal allowance for delays in fabrication or on-site installation. Successful delivery depended upon seamless collaboration with the museum team and all associated project stakeholders.

The solutions & the result

To navigate the project’s timeline and comply with international lending standards, we followed our agile project management methodology and extensive engineering expertise. Each showcase was precision-engineered to ensure full adaptability alongside integrated environmental stability solutions, fully complying with the stringent conservation and security requirements of the lending institutions. We successfully delivered all 36 showcases within the strict project timeline, marking the successful completion of this major installation in India. The final result is a richly layered gallery experience, presenting ancient global narratives through a carefully curated lens.