Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s wife’s necklace sold for £187, 000 in London

An Emerald and Seed-pearl necklace owned by Maharani Jindan Kaur, the wife of Sikh Emperor Majaraja Ranjit Singh, has been auctioned at Bonhams for £187, 000  in London on Tuesday.

The necklace was among the listed items to be auctioned from the Lahore Treasury as part of Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art sale in London. “The entire sale had several items belonging to the Raj era made over £1.8m pounds” the auction house said.

The necklace worn by Kaur, the final and the only one of Maharaja’s wives not to commit sati on his death, surpassed all estimate price of £120, 000. As regent to her five-year-old son Duleep Singh who was proclaimed Maharaja of Punjab in 1843, Kaur organised armed resistance to the British invasion but was eventually captured and imprisoned.

Maharani escaped to Kathmandu, but was kept under house arrest by King of Nepal, before eventually moving to England where she was reunited with her son Duleep Singh.

Other Sikh treasures on the sale included a gold thread-embroidered velvet-clad leather bow and arrow holder made for Maharaja Ranjit Singh.