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Runjeet Singh’s favorite horse and some of his finest jewels – Asian Art Museum

“Runjeet Singh’s favorite horse and some of his finest jewels” from Portraits of the Princes and Peoples of India, 1844, by Emily Eden (British, 1797–1869)
Hand-colored lithograph on paper
Gift of the Kapany Collection, 1998.63.14

December 23, 1838. “The first show of the day was Runjeet’s [Ranjit’s] private stud. [It] had on its emerald trappings, necklaces arranged on its neck, and between its ears, and in front of the saddle, two enormous emeralds, nearly two inches square, carved all over, and set in gold frames, like little looking-glasses. The crupper was all emeralds…. Heera Singh [one of Ranjit Singh’s favored courtiers] said the whole was valued at 37 lacs [370,000 rupees]; but all these valuations are fanciful as nobody knows the worth of these enormous stones; they are never bought or sold…. It reduces European magnificence to a very low pitch.” –Excerpt from Emily Eden, Up the Country: Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India, 1866

The large diamond seen in the center is the famous Koh-i Noor diamond that was in the possession of Ranjit Singh, and is depicted here in two views, from the top and side. Emily mentions that it was brought out for display before the ladies of the governorgeneral’s party. The Koh-i Noor diamond is also seen worn on the arm by Ranjit Singh in the engraving by Osborne [to your left]. Today the diamond, recut and reduced in size, adorns the crown worn by the Queen Mother of England and can be seen in the Tower of London.

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Maharajah Runjeet Sing – Asian Art Museum

“Maharajah Runjeet Singh” from The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing, 1840, by W. G. Osborne (British, 1804–1888) London
Printed book with engraved illustrations
Gift of the Kapany Collection, 1998.67

W. G. Osborne, the author of this book, was the military secretary to the governorgeneral the Earl of Auckland, brother of Emily Eden. Osborne was part of an official English mission sent to secure an alliance with the Sikhs. He published extracts from his personal journal, enlivening the text with sixteen engravings, of which this is one. Osborne’s primary intention, as stated in the preface to the book, was to respond to “the apathy with which everything connected with India is generally regarded in England.” He wrote, “The author will be more than satisfied if in the present excited state of the countries beyond our northwestern frontier, this imperfect description of a few weeks spent in familiar intercourse with a ruler, whom the peculiar position of his kingdom, as well as his own extraordinary character, have rendered an object of more than ordinary interest, should afford one moment’s amusement to those who, blessed in the enjoyment of all the comforts of their native land, can little guess the shifts to which their less fortunate and exiled countrymen are reduced, to pass the tedious hours of a hot and sultry day, on the burning plains of the East.” These words convey the range of English attitudes towards the country’s presence in India: the indifference and distance of the general populace in England, the political and economic ambitions of the East India Company, and the personal sense of exile and hardship felt by the Englishmen stationed in India.

The love story of the prophet Yusuf (Joseph in the Old Testament) and Zulaykha (Potiphar’s wife) has long been popular in the Islamic literary tradition as an allegory for the mystic’s search for truth and desire for union with God. The Koran, as in earlier, Judeo-Christian texts, recognizes Yusuf for his wisdom, patience, and absolute faith. His many trials, first at the hands of his brothers and then by the attempted seductions of his master’s wife, are described. Subsequent literature emphasizes Yusuf’s prophetic virtue, piety, and beauty. This page has text on both its sides and comes from fairly early in the story ( indicated by the page number “22” on the upper left corner). It describes Zulaykha’s dream in which she sees a vision of Yusuf for the first time, well before the two actually meet. The format of the page is typical for Persian narrative and lyrical poetry where the verse couplets (read from right to left across the page) are written in the nasta`liq script, organized in a two-column format, and the text block is surrounded by margins decorated with animals in landscape settings, in gold. The last line on this page, written in red, is the heading of the next chapter, and is in prose.

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Raja Heera Singh – Asian Art Museum

“Raja Heera Singh” from Portraits of the Princes and Peoples of India, 1844, by Emily Eden (British, 1797–1869)
Hand colored lithograph on paper
Gift of the Kapany Collection, 1998.63.7

Lahore, Friday, December 21, 1838. “[Today] Heera Singh, Runjeet’s favorite, came to my tent to sit for his picture but there was some difficulty about his coming, so he arrived late, and it was too dark to draw him well. Runjeet sent word that he considered him ‘his best-beloved son, ’ and hoped that somebody of consideration would be sent to fetch him. Dhian Singh, the prime minister and ruler of one-third of the Punjab … is Heera Singh’s father, but Runjeet sent the ‘best-beloved son’ with quantities of elephants, and two regiments, to take care of him, while Dhian Singh came on horseback, with only four soldiers behind him. He [Dhian Singh] is a very striking-looking man and his manners are much more pleasing than his son’s.” –Excerpt from Emily Eden, Up the Country: Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India, 1866 Elsewhere Emily Eden comments on Heera Singh’s arrogance. She also mentions that he had learned a little English and came up with good conversation topics. Heera Singh became prime minister after the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839. Politically ambitious and unpopular, Heera Singh was assassinated in 1844 by members of the Sikh army loyal to Maharani Jindan, wife of Ranjit Singh.

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Runjeet Singh’s favorite horse and some of his finest jewels – Asian Art Museum

“Runjeet Singh’s favorite horse and some of his finest jewels” from Portraits of the Princes and Peoples of India, 1844, by Emily Eden (British, 1797–1869)
Hand-colored lithograph on paper
Gift of the Kapany Collection, 1998.63.14

Tuesday, January 15, 1839. “This morning we went halfway in the carriage then got on elephants, to meet the Raja of Putteealah [Patiala], whose territories we enter today…. The Rajah’s procession was beautiful; not so large as some of Runjeet’s, but more regularly handsome, as all his followers were equally well dressed, and their riding was very striking. Runjeet’s men cannot ride at all. Some of the men we saw this morning put their horses into gallop.” Wednesday, February 20, 1839. “I have had two Delhi miniature painters here, translating two of my sketches into ivory, and I never saw anything so perfect as their copy of Runjeet Singh. Azim, the best painter, is almost a genius; except that he knows no perspective, so he can only copy. He is quite mad about some of my sketches, and as all miniatures of well-known characters sell really well he has determined to get hold of my book. There is a foreshortened elephant with the Putteealah Rajah in the howdah, that particularly takes his [Azim’s] fancy.” –Excerpts from Emily Eden, Up the Country: Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India, 1866

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The Raja of Putteealla – Asian Art Museum

“The Raja of Putteealla” from Portraits of the Princes and Peoples of India, 1844, by Emily Eden (British, 1797–1869)
Hand-colored lithograph on paper
Gift of the Kapany Collection, 1998.63.6

December 23, 1838. “The first show of the day was Runjeet’s [Ranjit’s] private stud. [It] had on its emerald trappings, necklaces arranged on its neck, and between its ears, and in front of the saddle, two enormous emeralds, nearly two inches square, carved all over, and set in gold frames, like little looking-glasses. The crupper was all emeralds…. Heera Singh [one of Ranjit Singh’s favored courtiers] said the whole was valued at 37 lacs [370,000 rupees]; but all these valuations are fanciful as nobody knows the worth of these enormous stones; they are never bought or sold…. It reduces European magnificence to a very low pitch.” –Excerpt from Emily Eden, Up the Country: Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India, 1866

The large diamond seen in the center is the famous Koh-i Noor diamond that was in the possession of Ranjit Singh, and is depicted here in two views, from the top and side. Emily mentions that it was brought out for display before the ladies of the governorgeneral’s party. The Koh-i Noor diamond is also seen worn on the arm by Ranjit Singh in the engraving by Osborne [to your left]. Today the diamond, recut and reduced in size, adorns the crown worn by the Queen Mother of England and can be seen in the Tower of London.

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Two attendants of Raja Kurruk Singh – Asian Art Museum

“Two attendants of Raja Kurruk Singh” from Portraits of the Princes and Peoples of India, 1844, by Emily Eden (British, 1797–1869)
Hand-colored lithograph on paper
Gift of the Kapany Collection, 1998.63.12

Lahore, Friday, December 21, 1838. “[Today] Heera Singh, Runjeet’s favorite, came to my tent to sit for his picture but there was some difficulty about his coming, so he arrived late, and it was too dark to draw him well. Runjeet sent word that he considered him ‘his best-beloved son, ’ and hoped that somebody of consideration would be sent to fetch him. Dhian Singh, the prime minister and ruler of one-third of the Punjab … is Heera Singh’s father, but Runjeet sent the ‘best-beloved son’ with quantities of elephants, and two regiments, to take care of him, while Dhian Singh came on horseback, with only four soldiers behind him. He [Dhian Singh] is a very striking-looking man and his manners are much more pleasing than his son’s.” –Excerpt from Emily Eden, Up the Country: Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India, 1866 Elsewhere Emily Eden comments on Heera Singh’s arrogance. She also mentions that he had learned a little English and came up with good conversation topics. Heera Singh became prime minister after the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839. Politically ambitious and unpopular, Heera Singh was assassinated in 1844 by members of the Sikh army loyal to Maharani Jindan, wife of Ranjit Singh.

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Purtab Singh – Asian Art Museum

“Purtab Singh” from Portraits of the Princes and Peoples of India, 1844, by Emily Eden (British, 1797–1869)
Hand-colored lithograph on paper
Gift of the Kapany Collection, 1998.63.19

December 10, 1838. “Shere Sing, and that darling little Pertab, came again to dinner. We had little Pertab to sketch this morning, and he was very pleasant. I asked him to fix his eyes on Captain M., who was acting interpreter. After a time he began to fidget, and his stern old Sikh tutor reproved him for it. Pertab told him he could not help it,—he was told to fix his eyes on M., and ‘this is the way he moves his head,’—and then he mimicked M. turning from one to another and interpreting, in such a funny little way. We gave him a diamond ring, which seemed to delight him.” Lahore, Friday, December 21, 1838. “The little boy [Pertab] is quite set on learning English, and he says in such a droll voice, ‘Chance, sit up’, ‘plate’, ‘glass,’ and a few other words he has picked up. To fill up the evenings, we have taught him that game of soldiers by making dots on a piece of paper.” –Excerpts from Emily Eden, Up the Country: Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India, 1866 Pratab Singh was Ranjit Singh’s grandson, and accompanied his father Sher Singh, who was appointed as the mehmandar, the nobleman charged with taking care of hospitality to the governor-general. Pratab Singh was killed at age twelve, along with Sher Singh, by Sikhs of a rival faction during the internal struggles that followed the death of Ranjit Singh.

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Portrait of Maharani Jindan, queen of Ranjit Singh – Asian Art Museum

"Portrait of Maharani Jindan, queen of Ranjit Singh" George Richmond, R.A. British. 1809-1896. Portrait of Maharani Rani Jindan . 1863. Oil on canvas.
Loan from Dr. Narinder S. Kapany, R2007.47.3 @ Asian Art Museum. Used by Permission.

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Two attendants of Raja Kurruk Singh – Asian Art Museum

"Seal ring of Maharaja Ranjit Singh" India, Amritsar, Punjab state, Pakistan, Lahore. 1812-1813. Jewelry. Emerald and gold. Loan from Dr. Narinder S. Kapany, R2000.44.2 @ Asian Art Museum. Used by Permission.