LAHORE: The Punjab Archaeology Directorate and Tourism department in collaboration with the Hungarian embassy and the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) on Wednesday placed 170 years old paintings of Hungarian painter August Schoefft in Sikh gallery at Lahore fort after its restoration and preservation.

The beautiful paintings of Hungarian artist August Schoefft, who visited Lahore between 1841 and 1842, were displayed in Princess Bamba gallery at Lahore fort.

According to historical accounts, Schoefft belonged to a family of artists. The street where he was born in 1809 is still known as ‘Képíró Utca’/Artists’.

In November 1841, Schoefft arrived at the court of Maharaja Sher Singh, the openly anglophile successor of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Schoefft completed a number of paintings for Sher Singh which he left behind in the royal tosha khana or treasury. Schoefft took away with him sketches of personalities he encountered in Lahore.

These paintings finally returned to Lahore when their last Sikh owner Princess Bamba Sutherland (Dalip Singh’s daughter) settled in Model Town, where she died in 1957. The Pakistan government in an act of unusual foresight bought the collection from her legatee Pir Karim Bukhsh Supra. Since then they have been languishing in the Sikh gallery.

Tourism and Archaeology Secretary Ehsan Bhutta said, “For the last two years, through the energetic concern of the then Hungarian ambassador Istvan Szabo and his wife Emilia, the paintings are now being preserved and displayed”.

Princess Bamba (1874-1957) was the elder daughter of Dalip Singh and granddaughter of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). She spent most of her life in England at Scuolk and Elvaden Hall, the residence of her father. From the 1930s she usually visited Lahore and married Colonel Sutherland, the principal of King Edward Medical College in 1935.

She resided in Model Town till her death in 1957. Before her death, she donated all the personal belongings of her family i.e paintings by European artists, models, photographs, lithographs and other unique objects now displayed in Sikh museum at Lahore fort under Directorate General of Archaeology of Punjab. “The Hungarian embassy took this initiative to restore 11 precious paintings titled “Princess Bamba’s collection” at Lahore fort, Sikh gallery”, said the secretary.

He further said this gallery consists of a hall room of Rani Jindan Haveli built in Sikh period in (1833-34). “Mostly the paintings on display are of Sikh ruler of Punjab. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, his son Kharak Singh, Sher Singh and Dalip Singh”, said Mr. Bhutta.

Mostly the oil paintings are painted by the European painters, August Theodor Schoeffi, Lisly Pool Smith and others. “Now the Hungarian expert painter’s team is doing a remarkable job of restoring these 11 paintings. They visited and had interaction with their team a few days ago”, said the secretary.

All kinds of facilities at the gallery have been provided by the archaeology officers from manpower (labour) to comfortable space etc.

With the approval of the chief secretary a scheme to revamp all three galleries at Lahore fort (Sikh gallery, Princess Bamba gallery and Mughals gallery) with the help of AKRSP technical experts is under process of approval by the archaeology directorate. This will help to improve display, lighting/ illumination, air-conditioning system, humidity control.

“If you see restored paintings and before restoration (all made part of a dossier having step by step pictorial evidence), one would feel a difference”, he said.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2021