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A small steatite statue of Maharajah Ranjit Singh enthroned Punjab, mid-19th Century image 1
A small steatite statue of Maharajah Ranjit Singh enthroned Punjab, mid-19th Century image 2
A small steatite statue of Maharajah Ranjit Singh enthroned Punjab, mid-19th Century image 3
Lot 260

A small steatite statue of Maharajah Ranjit Singh enthroned
Punjab, mid-19th Century

22 May 2025, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

£4,000 - £6,000

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A small steatite statue of Maharajah Ranjit Singh enthroned
Punjab, mid-19th Century

on rectangular stepped base, naturalistically carved, seated in typical pose on a rounded chair with one foot tucked onto seat, the other resting on a footstool, his right eye inlaid with glass, his right hand holding prayer beads
9.7 cm. high

Footnotes

Provenance
Private UK collection.

Another steatite figure of Maharajah Ranjit Singh seated in the same pose is published in Davinder Toor, In Pursuit of Empire, London, 2018, pp. 102-105. The depiction of the Maharajah seated in his distinctive rounded chair, with one knee bent with his foot tucked onto the chair, is inspired by Emily Eden's famous lithograph depiction (for which see the previous lot in this sale, 259) in Portraits of the Princes and People of India (London, 1844) and by contemporary accounts of his habits.

Additional information