Komal Pande

Biography

Komal has worked at the National Museum, New Delhi for more than ten years as curator and custodian of the collection. Komal holds the custody of the collection, oversees the digitisation of objects, and conducts her own research on antiquities to enrich the available literature within the museum. Komal has previously worked as Head of the Publication Division at the National Museum, the department responsible for publishing brochures, information sheets, bulletins, catalogues and all public material. She also currently leads the Technical Unit Wing (museum acquisition cell) where she updates newly acquired objects in the museum records.

At the National Museum, Komal is responsible for the coins, inscriptions and rare jewellery collection. She has recently curated the museum’s permanent Inscriptions Gallery and is currently working on a project to create a temporary exhibition with the jewellery collection. This includes researching, designing and conceptualising the exhibition, which will take inspiration from Indian mythologies, epics and depictions of jewellery in Indian Art tracing the idea of tradition and continuity.

Komal’s education background is art history and aesthetics, and she is interested in the pedagogical aspect of curation and collections. Alongside her work at the National Museum, Komal is a course teacher for the master’s level students at the Indian Institute of Heritage (formerly known as National Museum Institute). For Komal learning to critically appreciate art, searching for visual and textual sources, and ways of making the past relevant in the present are key methodologies in her practice.

At the British Museum
During her time at the British Museum, Komal was based in the Asia Department and her UK partner placement was spent at North East Museums.

Komal’s participation in the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Charles Wallace India Trust & Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation.