Art
Sher-e-Punjab's Marble Bust Lures Collectors
He was called The Lion of Punjab.
And among the many precious treasures he owned was the priceless Kohinoor diamond.
It comes as little surprise, then, that a 1 metre, 38 cm tall bust of Sher-e-Punjab Ranjit Singh, the early-19th century Emperor of Punjab, is attracting worldwide interest before it goes under the hammer at an international auction.
The milk-white sculpture has been priced between £50,000 and £70,000 (Rs 45,00,000 and Rs 63,00,000 ) and will be auctioned at the Bonhams Indian and Islamic sale on October 9, 2008 in London, England.
Invariably, it'll go for much, much more, since Sikh art and artefacts have far outstripped their counterparts from the sub-continent in recent years. The oncoming auction is expected to shatter records.
This is not the first time items related to Sikh royalty have gone under the hammer.
"Last year we sold a bust of Ranjit Singh's son, Maharaja Duleep Singh, for £1.7million", said Clare Penhallurick, Head of Indian and Islamic Art at Bonhams.
And contrary to perception, Penhallurick points out, "There is a worldwide market for items related to Sikh and Indian royalty that attracts many non-Asian buyers. Of course, many of these pieces are bought by Sikhs and Indians from across the diaspora".
Price-wise, Sikh and Indian art and artefacts are not in the A-league yet. "Prices have risen considerably in the past few years; however, it is still possible to buy works of art by major Sikh, Punjabi and Indian artists for relatively less than the comparable Western counterpart. So it's still a good time to buy", she adds.
Ranjit Singh was referred to as Sher-e-Punjab, being the only Emperor on the sub-continent to have kept the British at bay - until his death, when the Raj was able to annex Punjab to the Raj with the help of the Indian states which had already been conquered.
Ranjit Singh was also behind the gilding of the Harmandar Sahib, from which the popular name of the Golden Temple is derived.
"For sealing Punjab's borders against invaders from Afghanistan and Central Asia, to having an army that had Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and European soldiers fighting side by side, Ranjit Singh was probably the most secular, honest and generous ruler the sub-continent has had. No wonder he was called the Lion of Punjab", says Professor Dharam Singh, Head of the School of Punjabi Studies at Amritsar's Guru Nanak Dev University.
Sikh artefacts have had pride of place at many international auctions.
[From report by Anubha Sawhney Joshi - Courtesy: The Times of India]
September 9, 2008