A Hidden Treasure: The Museum of Christian Art
The Museum of Christian Art is a pleasure to anyone interested in museums, artefacts and all things to do with history and culture. Located at the world heritage site which boasts of the ruins of St Augustine’s Church, the museum is housed in part of the Convent of St Monica. It is a project of the Archdiocese of Goa, Daman and Diu and was initially funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The museum is not vast in its collection, with two floors (the ground floor is 350 square metres and the upper floor is 150 square metres) devoted to artefacts, but the items are intriguing and must be given careful study to understand their true value. The antiquities have more to do with Christianity as a religion and its observances rather than being strictly Indo-Portuguese objects of art. There are ornate priestly garments and Bibles, as well as vessels used during Holy Mass, aside from statues, paintings. Indeed, the Chur