PUNJAB, NORTH INDIA, FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

The armband (bazuband) is an ancient form of jewellery and can be seen on early Indian sculpture, such as on figures of Gandharan-period bodhisattvas in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The armband could be worn singly but is often seen worn in pairs on both arms. Bazubands from the Mughal period are usually a three-part hinged ornament, each section set with gemstones. The Gentil Album, dated circa 1774, in the Victoria and Albert Museum illustrates various tripartite jewels which could be bazubands or sarpatti (part of turban ornaments) (inv. no. IS 1925-1980; S. Stronge, N. Smith and J.C. Harle, A Golden Treasury: Jewellery from the Indian Subcontinent, Ahmedabad, 1988, fig. 6, pp.28-29). A painting depicting Ranjit Singh in Durbar by Bishan Singh included in this sale (lot 97) shows the Maharaja wearing an emerald bazuband similar to the present lot.
This elegantly carved emerald bazuband was reputedly in the collection of Maharani Jindan Kaur (1817-63), wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). Born in 1817 in Chahar of humble origins, Maharani Jindan Kaur grew into a lady of exquisite beauty and in 1835, she became Ranjit Singh's seventeenth wife and in 1838 had a son, Duleep. Just ten months later, Ranjit Singh died. She was the Maharaja's only surviving widow, rejecting the practice of 'Sati' or throwing herself on the funeral pyre with his other wives, choosing to bring up her young son instead.
After the deaths of Ranjit Singh’s eldest sons, Duleep took the throne in 1843, aged just five years old, and Jindan Kaur acted as regent. After the First Anglo-Sikh war, the British retained Duleep as ruler but imprisoned Jindan Kaur, seeing her influence over the Maharaja as a threat. She was detained in Chunnar Fort in Uttar Pradesh but escaped in 1849, disguised in rags, and sought refuge in Nepal. When she was reunited with her son in 1861, he negotiated the return of her jewels, comprising over 600 pieces of her personal jewellery. A selection of her jewellery was sold at Bonhams, London, 26 October 2020, lot 239, 31 March 2021, lot 123 and 8 October 2009, lot 366.
The present bazuband was acquired from the family of reknowned London jeweller John Brogden (1820-1884), who was among the most prolific of Victorian manufacturing jewellers during the second half of the 19th Century. He showcased a range of jewellery at the Great Exhibition in 1851 at London’s Crystal Palace with a focus on revival pieces taking inspiration from the the ancient city of Nineveh. Examples of his Assyrian, Egyptian and Renaissance revival jewellery can be seen in both the Victoria and Albert Museum and The British Museum amongst others.