Two pistols made for Tipu Sultan and a fine painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh set new records at an auction in London this week. Titled ‘Arts of the Islamic World and India’, the auction held on Wednesday fetched a total of more than 10 million pounds. In these, historical Indian artefacts achieved prices much higher than the estimated prices.
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A pair of silver-studded flintlock pistols specially made for Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan have been sold to a private collector for 1.1 million pounds, almost 14 times the estimated value. A painting of 19th century Sikh emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh was sold for 9 lakh 52 thousand 500 pounds (952,500 pounds). This is a new record so far in the field of Sikh art and it was bought by an institution. In the painting, artist Bishan Singh has depicted him going in a procession through a market in Lahore.
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The catalog of the collector organization ‘Sotheby’s’ says about this painting, “This beautiful and finely made tableau shows Maharaja Ranjit Singh passing through the market of Lahore riding on an elephant. He is accompanied by his grand court, attendants carrying chanwar and umbrellas, falconers and riders drawn by horses and camels, including his son Sher Singh, a courtesan and his religious and political advisors Bhai Ram Singh and Raja Gulab Singh.
The catalog further states, “In the foreground of the painting, monks and street artists are trying to attract the attention of the Maharaja, while in the background, craftsmen, kite makers and shopkeepers are seen busy with their work.” These pistols of Tipu Sultan were found in his treasury during the siege of Srirangapatna by the East India Company in 1799. The Sultan died in that conflict and many of his valuable weapons were taken to Britain.
The catalog states, “A characteristic feature of Tipu Sultan’s pistols is that they were often made in ‘mirror’ design – one with a left-hand lock, the other with a right-hand lock. It is said that the Sultan was particularly fond of this combination and used to display them in his public courts.” Apart from the pistols, another silver-studded flintlock ‘Blunderbuss’ or ‘Bukmar’ gun made for Tipu Sultan sold for 5 lakh 71 thousand 500 pounds. The first item to be auctioned was a rare late 16th century Quran manuscript from the library of Mughal emperor Akbar, which was auctioned for £8,63,600 after 15 minutes of bidding.
Other important objects related to India included a set of albums containing pictures of 52 Indian costumes, which had been in the same family for 225 years. It was sold for 6 lakh 9 thousand 600 pounds. A Mughal period jade dagger with a handle shaped like a horse’s head and its scabbard sold for 4 lakh 6 thousand 400 pounds, while a 17th century Indian painting of ‘Elephants playing in a mountain lake’ was auctioned for 1 lakh 39 thousand 700 pounds. According to Sotheby’s, 20 percent of the buyers at this week’s auction were new. Bidders from 25 countries including India participated in the auction.