In the north, Jammu's two museums display a valuable collection of miniature paintings collectively known as 'Pahari' school of paintings or hill school of paintings. In Srinagar, there is a Shri Pratap Singh (SPS) Museum, which is the only place in India where one can see stone sculptures of deities executed in the distinctive style that was a hallmark of Kashmir in the 7th to 11th centuries. The two museums of Jammu are: -
Amar Mahal Palace Museum
A beautiful red sand stone palace, it stands amidst the most picturesque surroundings of Jammu. In the north are pretty Shivaliks along with the gorgeous gurgling River Tawi that adds grandeur to this already picture-perfect place. It was once the residential palace of Raja Amar Singh that has now been converted to a museum. Hari-Tara Charitable trust looks after the palace now. The highlight of the museum is the splendid golden throne, a 120 kg pure gold sofa, which is ornamented by the golden lions embedded into it. It is placed in a hexagonal room. There is a gallery in the museum that exhibit paintings known as Nal Damyanti along with other Pahari paintings and family portraits of rulers of Jammu and Kashmir. The museum also houses a library of around 25000 books on various subjects and disciplines. The building of the museum itself is a visual treat and is designed like a French Chateau.
Dogra Art Museum
Situated in the Pink Hall of Mubarak Mandi complex, the museum has on its display about 800 rare and exquisite paintings from different schools of paintings such as Basoli, Jammu and Kangra. It houses a gold plated bow and arrow belonging to Mughal emperor Shah Jehan and a number of carpentry tools that are also an important section of the museum. There are hand written manuscripts of Shahnama and Sikendernama, written in Persian, housed here alon with a stone plate on which Takri script has been inscribed.