One of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s favorite horses and some of his finest jewels

The Power of Spectacle

The Sikh courts of nineteenth-century Punjab left visitors enthralled with their display of pomp and pageantry. Maharajas and courtiers wore magnificent clothes and bedecked themselves and their horses with spectacular jewelry.

One notable exception was Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the largest and most powerful of the Sikh kingdoms. While he favored simple clothes of fine cotton for himself, he well understood the power of a display of wealth and insisted that his courtiers, army, and even their mounts be dressed in lavish silks and jewels, especially when receiving foreign dignitaries at court.

Other Sikh kingdoms such as Patiala and Nabha signed treaties with the British, primarily to counter the growing power of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This arrangement enabled them to keep their courts and armies. The maharajas of these kingdoms, with their ample resources and time, patronized artists and artisans who created opulent ornaments for them and recorded their glorious appearance in portraits.

An important record of the impressions left on visitors to the Sikh kingdoms is found in the writings and drawings of Europeans such as Emily Eden and W. G. Osborne. Some of their works can be seen here.

— Text by Sonia Dhami, former intern specializing in Sikh art, Splendid Garments and Jewels Portrayed by a British Visitor

These hand-painted lithographs were based on paintings created by the Englishwoman Emily Eden. In the late 1830s she traveled through northern India, including Sikh territories in Punjab, in the company of her brother, the British governor-general.

Her position gave her access to many important figures as well as ordinary people. She met the great Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh on several occasions, as well as his generals, courtiers, and family members including his wives. After her return to England, she published some of her depictions in Portraits of the Princes and People of India, from which the three shown here come. , Following Indian ideals of kingship, rulers wore opulent jewelry and fabulous clothing as an expression of their power, wealth, and refinement. Visitors to the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh unfailingly remarked upon its extraordinary splendor. A commander of the British army in India observed that “the dresses and jewels of the Rajah’s court were the most superb that can be conceived.”

For Ranjit Singh, horses were an essential aspect of royal display. The three large emeralds in the bottom image, drawn to scale, were among the many jewels that festooned the maharaja’s horse.

On occasion Ranjit Singh is even said to have adorned his horses with such priceless gems as the Koh-i-Noor diamond, shown here in top and side views.