PUNJAB, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY

The present mail suit was almost certainly acquired by Lord Dalhousie during the annexation of Punjab at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49). Although Lord Dalhousie presented the finest items taken in this war to Queen Victoria, including the famed Koh-i Nur ‘mountain of light’ diamond and the golden throne of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2518(IS)), he kept his own share of the spoils of war. Sixty-six items of arms and armour, including the personal armour of Duleep Singh (lot 37), were offered at the sale of his daughter’s estate in 1898. The present suit, part of a prestigious collection for almost two centuries, is remarkable for the quality of its make and its excellent condition.