Donated by Ulka Neugi from late husband’s collection
Shahin Bepari Lambe
Panaji: A donation of 98 Indo-Portuguese and post-liberation period coins has enhanced the collection of the state museum in Panaji, with the rare numismatic collection being added to the museum archives in May.
The coins belonged to late Uday Gajanan Neugi from Margao and were donated to the museum by his wife, Ulka Neugi, from his personal collection.
“Documentation work of the newly acquired collection is currently in progress. After any object is acquired, the museum conducts a detailed study and registration of the items, including their name, measurements, period, classification and other technical details,” said museum curator Manisha G Govenkar. She said that with awareness about museums and heritage preservation increasing in recent years through various workshops and programmes conducted by the Directorate of Museums, people are approaching museums to donate historical objects from their personal collections.
“When donors approach the museum, officials visit the location, study the object and then decide on the acquisition process,” she said.
Officials said the museum had recently acquired other artefacts, including a linga found at Bogmalo beach and a marble Gopal Krishna idol from Kundai in Ponda. These acquisitions were made in December 2025 and January 2026, respectively.
The museum has around 10,000 sculptures in its collection, including metal, stone and wooden objects, along with collections dating back to 1961. It currently has around 14 galleries.
