Enfilade

Now on view at The Wallace Collection:

Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King
The Wallace Collection, London, 10 April — 20 October 2024

Explore the life of the great Sikh leader Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) in this major exhibition

With an unwavering sense of destiny, Ranjit Singh conquered the Punjab, an area that today encompasses Pakistan, following a period of anarchy caused by decades of Afghan invasions. By the early 19th century, he emerged as the undisputed Maharaja, establishing the influential Sikh Empire. Ranjit Singh’s leadership led to a golden age marked by thriving trade, flourishing arts, and a formidable army. Discover his story through nearly 100 stunning artworks, including jewellery and weaponry from the Sikh Empire drawn from major private and public collections. The exhibition also features historic objects from his court, courtiers, and family, including items owned by the Maharaja and the most famous of his 30 wives, Maharani Jind Kaur. Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King is a unique opportunity to see our remarkable collection of Sikh arms and armour alongside other Sikh artworks for the first time.

From Bloomsbury Press:

Davinder Toor, Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King (London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2024), 144 pages, ISBN: 978-1781301265, £20 / $30.

This book, published to coincide with the exhibition at the Wallace Collection, features historic artworks, jewellery, and weaponry from Ranjit Singh’s court, courtiers, and family members. Also highlighted are objects intimately connected with his son, Maharaja Duleep Singh—the deposed boy-king turned country squire who was a favourite of Queen Victoria and father of the prominent suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. Richly illustrated, this catalogue also reveals the achievements of Ranjit Singh’s European and American officials. Acknowledging Ranjit Singh’s remarkable feat of holding back the threat of a British invasion for four decades, these ‘Firangis’ would nickname their esteemed Sikh sovereign ‘The Napoleon of the East’.

Davinder Toor is a leading figure among a new generation of Sikh, Indian, and Islamic art collectors. He has acted as a consultant to major private collectors, auction houses and institutions such as the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Wallace Collection. He currently lectures on the ‘Arts of the Royal Sikh Courts’ and ‘Sikh Painting and Manuscripts’ for the V&A’s prestigious Arts of Asia course. Both he and objects from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art were featured on the BBC’s Lost Treasures of the Sikh Kingdom (2014) and The Stolen Maharajah: Britain’s Indian Royal (2018) documentaries. The Toor Collection, comprising more than 1,500 works, acts as a lasting legacy to the empire of the Sikhs.

c o n t e n t s

Maps
Foreword
Preface

Prelude to Power — Davinder Toor
Masters of War — Davinder Toor
The Lahore Durbar — Davinder Toor
Firangis — William Dalrymple
Legacies — Davinder Toor

Notes
Bibliography
Image credits