Chairs from India's last Sikh ruler go to auction

Two 19th Century chairs that belonged to the last Sikh ruler of India are to be auctioned.

Duleep Singh (1838-1893) inherited the title of Sikh Maharaja at five years old, but after the annexation of the Sikh Empire by the British in 1849 he was exiled to Elveden Hall, on the Suffolk-Norfolk border.

The chairs from the estate are expected to fetch between £8,000 and £12,000 for the pair.

Nicholas Shaw, a specialist at Olympia Auctions, said it anticipated "wide interest" in them when they go under the hammer on Wednesday.

Duleep Singh was the youngest son of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, who founded the Sikh Empire in the Punjab in 1799.

After being exiled, Duleep Singh came to England at the age of 15 and over the years developed a warm friendship with Britain's reigning monarch, Queen Victoria.

He purchased the Elveden Estate in 1863, and after his death in 1893 aged 55 he was buried in the grounds.

The estate was later purchased by Edward Cecil Guinness, from the renowned Guinness brewing family.

The chairs, which were crafted in Bombay - now called Mumbai - in about 1850, remained at the estate even after Edward Guinness took it over.

According to Olympia Auctions, they contain dark Bombay blackwood and feature Indian motifs and friezes of acanthus leaves.

"These chairs bear witness to the Maharajah Duleep Singh's admiration for quality craftsmanship and his efforts to create a home that reflected both his Indian heritage and his place in English society," Mr Shaw said.

"Due to their legacy, quality and craftsmanship, we anticipate wide interest."

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