Tipu Sultan pistols, Maharaja Ranjit Singh painting set auction record in UK

A couple of pistols made for tipu tree grand turk and an intricate picture of maharajah Ranjit Singh were among the starring lots that helped set a new auction record for Sotheby’s in London this week.

The ‘Arts of the Islamic World and India’ sale on Wednesday fetched a combined total of over 10 million pounds, with both historic Indian auction lots outshining their guide price estimates considerably.

The 18th century Mysore ruler’s silver-mounted flintlock pistols, made especially for the Tiger of Mysore, sold to a private collector for almost 14 times the estimate for 1.1 million pounds.

The painting of the 19th century founder of the Sikh Empire, depicting Maharaja Ranjit Singh in procession through a bazaar by artist Bishan Singh set a new record for Sikh art as it was acquired by an institution for 952,500 pounds.

“This wonderfully detailed processional scene depicts Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh leader, riding his elephant through a bazaar in Lahore,” reads the Sotheby’s catalogue entry.

“He is accompanied by an extravagant court entourage; his chowrie and chatra bearers and his falconer by his side, preceded by horse and camel-drawn carriages carrying his son Sher Singh and a courtesan, and his spiritual and political advisors – Bhai Ram Singh and Raja Gulab Singh.

“In the foreground ascetics and street performers jostle for the Maharaja’s attention and in the background an array of craftsmen, kite-makers and vendors busily trade their wares,” it notes.

In line with many of his swords and weapons in the past, Tipu Sultan’s pistols are traced back to the siege of Seringapatam by the East India Company in May 1799 during which the Mysore ruler was killed and his prized possessions, including his firearms, were looted and taken to Britain.

“An unusual aspect of Tipu Sultan’s pistols is that they are often made mirrored... One with a left-hand lock and the other with a right-hand lock. This combination appears to have been preferred by Tipu Sultan, and they appeared among his other trappings of state when he presided over his public audiences,” notes the catalogue entry.

Besides the pistols, a silver-mounted flintlock blunderbuss or bukmar firearm made for Tipu Sultan sold for 571,500 pounds.

The first lot in the sale, a rare late 16th century Quran manuscript from the library of Mughal Emperor Akbar in India, sparked a 15-minute bidding battle to go under the hammer selling for 863,600 pounds.

Among the other Indian highlights at the auction included a set of albums containing 52 paintings of Indian costumes, held in the same family since the original commission 225 years ago, which fetched 609,600 pounds.

A Mughal jade “horsehead” hilted dagger and scabbard also beat expectations to fetch 406,400 pounds and a 17th century painting of elephants frolicking in a mountain lake in India sold for 139,700 pounds.

According to Sotheby’s, 20 per cent of the buyers in this week’s sale were new to the auction house and included lively bidding from 25 countries across the world, including India.

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