Rare Sikh empire items on display in London exhibition

LONDON:Over 100 rare items from private and public collections went on display on Thursday as part of a major ‘Empire of the Sikhs’ exhibition that narrates the life and times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), whose tenure challenged the supremacy of British rule.

The exhibition at the School of Oriental and African Studies organised by the UK Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA) with Kashi House CIC includes details of American and European adventurers who served the Sikh empire from 1799 to 1849.

Among the items in the exhibition that runs until September 23 are glittering jewellery and weaponry, including personal items that belonged to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and to the most famous of his 30 ‘official’ wives, Maharani Jind Kaur.

A source of much interest to western visitors to the Sikh royal court prior to its annexation through the two bitterly fought Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–46, 1848–49) was the Kohinoor diamond, which was wrested from Afghan hands in 1813.

The jewel was eventually presented to Queen Victoria on July 3, 1850. Fitted with a rock crystal replica of the original, uncut Kohinoor, it is now preserved as part of the Royal Collection and is one of the highlights of the display.

The UKPHA is described as an organisation dedicated to securing Punjab’s cultural heritage for today’s audiences, and has roots in the personal journeys of its UK-based founders who set out to discover and make sense of their cultural inheritance.

Co-organiser Kashi House CIC is a media and publishing enterprise focused on the history and culture of the Sikhs and in the Punjab region in India and Pakistan. Its name refers to ‘Kashi’ in Punjab that Guru Gobind Singh founded in 1706.

Among the items in the exhibition that runs until September 23 are glittering jewellery and weaponry, including personal items that belonged to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and to the most famous of his 30 ‘official’ wives, Maharani Jind Kaur.

The Lion of Punjab riding a stallion (engraving after an oil painting by Alfred De Dreux, Paris, 1838). The painting upon which this is engraving was based was commissioned by Ranjit Singh’s trusted Italian officer, General Ventura, and gifted to King...

Maharaja Sher Singh wearing the KohiNoor diamond (on the right arm) and Timur ruby (oil on panel by August Theodor Schoefft, circa 1841–42). In a dazzling display of splendour and opulence, this vivid portrait of the second son of Maharaja Ranjit...

CREDIT: ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST Armlet for the KohiNoor diamond (gold, enamel, rock crystal, glass, rubies, pearls and silk, circa 1830). This rock crystal replica of the ‘Mountain of Light’ in the original Sikh setting captures the dazzling presence of one of history’s most...

CREDIT: TOOR COLLECTION Maharaja Ranjit Singh on a Sikh sword. The guard of the hilt, which shows the Sikh king riding an elephant, is inscribed with the tenth Sikh Guru’s philosophy on the nature of kingship: ‘May the cauldron and sword flourish in the world. Grant your...

CREDIT: TOOR COLLECTION Rani Mahtab Kaur (1782–1813), the first wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, (gouache heightened with gold on ivory by Rattan Singh, Punjab or Delhi, circa 1810–30). She became Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s first wife in 1796 in a marriage arranged by her mother,...