The Lahore Museum was founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on 'The Mall' in Lahore during the British colonial period, Lahore Museum is Pakistan's most visited and famous museums and remains one of the major museums in South Asia. The museum, along with the Zamzama Gun located directly in front of the building, were made famous in the celebrated British novel Kim, written by Rudyard Kipling - whose father was one of the museum's earliest curators. The museum is now also renowned for its extensive collection of Buddhist art from the ancient Indo-Greek and Gandhara kingdoms. It also has collections from the Mughal Empire, Sikh Empire and the British Empire in India.