August 15, 2004

Not many art aficionados know that Ranjeet Singh’s granddaughter, Princess Bamba Sutherland, kept a collection of precious objets d’art in her custody that belonged to her grandfather

THE very mention of the Lahore Fort instantly brings to mind the history of Mughal architecture, vividly depicted in the shape of multiple buildings. Some of these buildings are the massive Masti Gate, symmetrically arranged Diwan-i-Aam, the Jahangir quadrangle, Diwan-i-Khas, Moti Masjid and Sheesh Mahal.

After the decline of the Mughal empire in Punjab, the Sikhs held power for a short span of time. During that period the Sikhs also contributed to the field of architecture in their own distinct way. One such addition was the haveli of Rani Jindan, built for the wife of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. It now very appropriately houses in its spacious hall a major part of the art treasures belonging to the granddaughter of the maharaja, Princess Bamba Sutherland (1869-1957), who claimed to be the real ruler of Punjab.

Maharaja Ranjeet Singh came to power in 1799 after a turbulent rule of three Sikh leaders and then a very brief occupation of Lahore by the Durrani king, Shah Zaman. Ranjeet Singh was able to consolidate his kingdom through shrewdness and skillful handling of different affairs. After his death in 1839, the internal strifes and conspiracies among his successors resulted in a few very short-lived rules. Finally, his youngest son, Dalip Singh, at the age of six, was proclaimed the new maharaja in 1843.

Dalip Singh was the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. He was born of Maharani Jindan on Sept 6, 1837. According to the Lahore treaty of March 1846, the British government was responsible for the administration of the state and the protection of the maharaja. However, the British unjustly deposed the young maharaja. On March 29, 1849, at the age of 12, Dalip singh was forced to sign over the sovereignty of Punjab and relinquish all claims to his kingdom’s property, including the Kohinoor diamond. The maharaja stepped down from his father’s throne, never to sit on it again.

The young maharaja was removed to Fatehgarh in the province of UP. Later, he was granted a pension and sent to England where he was given an estate in Suffolk. He married the daughter of a European merchant and had six children, all of whom could not live for long.

Princess Bamba Jindan Dalip Singh was the third child of the deposed maharaja. She later married an English gentleman Dr Sutherland and continued to keep in her custody the collection of paintings and objets d’art belonging to her father. She outlived all her brothers and sisters and died in Lahore on March 10, 1957. With her death ended the line of the once ruling Sikh dynasty.

With no heir to own her art treasure, she bequeathed the entire collection to Pir Karim Bakhsh Supra, her trusted driver, during her lifetime. The pir, being a patriotic Pakistani, resisted the foreign temptation for the acquisition of this priceless collection. However, in view of the historical and artistic value of the collection, the government of Pakistan purchased it from him and put it on display at the Lahore Fort, its original home. The pir was subsequently honoured with a national medal for an act of patriotism.

The collection originally belonged to Maharaja Ranjeet Singh and seems to have been moved to England where the young and deposed Dalip Singh lived in exile. The collection comprises 88 objects and includes oil paintings, water colour and ivory paintings, models cast in metal, photographs and miscellaneous objects. In addition to the distinct depiction of the Sikh darbar (court), the collection speaks volumes for the artistic taste of the Sikh royalty in the 19th century.

An interesting aspect of the paintings in the collection is that most of these are the works of European artists and painters like August Schoefft, Leslie Poole Smith, Godingham, Blakeney Ward, P.C. French, Paillet and Winterhalter. They mainly represent the European style of the 19th century and hardly have any resemblance to the style that was famous in the Sikh period, which generally followed the Kangra School.

Amongst the paintings, the one depicting the ‘Darbar of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’ by August Schoefft catches the eye immediately. It is painted on an exceptionally large-sized canvas, 4.9 x 2.5metres, and portrays the minutest details of the darbar. The locale of the scene is the marble pavilion — Athdara adjoining the Sheesh Mahal in the Fort of Lahore. The maharaja himself is seen receiving the nazrana — presents. He is surrounded by members of the royal family, courtiers, nobles and high officials of the state including European officers of his army. It may be noted that prior to its shifting to Pakistan, this very painting remained on display at the British Museum, London, for some time.

A couple of other important paintings are the ones showing ‘Maharaja Ranjeet Singh at Amritsar’ and ‘Maharaja Sher Singh in Council’.

The oil paintings in the collection include the portraits of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and his two sons in addition to that of Maharaja Dalip Singh.

While the oil paintings have a stamp of the European style, all 22, oval-shaped, ivory miniature paintings depict the style that was in vogue in the 19th century in the subcontinent, particularly in Delhi, Agra and Benaras. These miniature paintings are beautifully arranged in six rows, depicting different personages in the upper five rows. The sixth row, or the one at the bottom, contains two paintings, one of the Shalamar Garden at Lahore and the other of Taj Mahal, Agra.

An exquisitely done model of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh riding-in-state is another object that needs special mention. It is made of silver and measures 81cm in length, 588cm in breadth and 112cm in height. The maharaja himself is shown sitting in a delicately worked hauda or an elephant, with an attendant sitting in the rear and holding the royal umbrella over the maharaja. The pedestal and the plinth of the model depict an assortment of soldiers, horses and other scenes with animals and beasts.

The Sikh gallery at the Lahore Fort, established in the early ‘60s of the 20th century, was re-arranged and re-displayed in the year 1983-84 by the government of Pakistan. In addition to providing better air-conditioning system to give a longer lease of life to the exhibits, the display was improved on more scientific lines with the help of sophisticated gadgets and display aids.

It is, however, a matter of concern that quite in line with the tradition of the department of archaeology and museums, the air conditioning has long ceased to function properly. This is affecting adversely the preservation of objets d’art of a unique nature. The gallery also generally remains closed, probably because it is understaffed. Even when one gets access to it, one gets disappointed over the deteriorating condition of the priceless objects and the overall depressing condition of the hall.

Immediate steps must be taken to conserve some of the objects in the collection. Also, the atmosphere they are put in needs to be improved.

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