Tina Davies, our new BACSA Events Officer, has supplied details of this exhibition at the Wallace Collection, London, which will be on until 20 October:
‘The current Exhibition at The Wallace Collection in Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN explores the life of ‘Ranjit Singh – Sikh, Warrior, King’ (1780-1839), and runs until 20th October 2024.
Ranjit Singh conquered the Punjab following a period of unrest caused by decades of Afghan invasions. By the early 19th century he emerged as the undisputed ruler, establishing the Sikh empire and earning himself the soubriquet ‘The Lion of the Punjab’.
The exhibition features historic objects from his court and courtiers, and from members of his family, including items owned by Maharani Jind Kaur, the most famous of his 30 wives, and mother of the (later deposed) Maharaja Duleep Singh. Also displayed, for the first time, is a collection of Sikh arms and armoury alongside other Sikh artworks.
For more information about the exhibition, please see the Wallace Collection website.’
Tina Davies, BACSA Events Officer
Ed. note:
Jewelled daggers and Indian miniatures
As Alexandra Shulman, a ‘new trustee of the Wallace Collection’, recently diarised:
‘On Sunday I ran into an acquaintance… [and] suggested he check out the current Wallace show on Ranjit Singh, the Sikh warrior king. Along with lethal jewelled daggers, there are some beautiful Indian miniatures. He told me the derivation of the term miniatures in art had nothing to do with their size, but instead came from minium, a red lead oxide used by miniators, who applied it to illustrations in medieval manuscripts’ (The Spectator, 4 May 2024)
(Suggestions for BACSA website news items are always welcome – please send them to ‘comms@bacsa.org.uk’)
Rachel Magowan