Maharaja Ranjit Singh painting, Tipu Sultan pistols shatter records at London auction

A pair of silver-mounted flintlock pistols ­–– made for the 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan of Mysore, and a lavish 19th-century painting depicting Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire –– emerged as the standout lots in the recent “Arts of the Islamic World and India” auction at Sotheby’s in London, together helping to propel the sale to over £10 million.

The Mysore-era pistols achieved a striking result, selling for £1.1 million – almost 14 times their original estimate. The painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, created by artist Bishan Singh, depicts the Sikh ruler riding an elephant through a bustling Lahore bazaar, with his court in tow, and fetched £952,500. That price set a record for Sikh-art being sold at auction.

According to Sotheby’s catalogue, the portrait features the maharaja in full regalia, flanked by attendants carrying fly-whisks and chargers, his falconer riding beside him and behind them horse- and camel-drawn carriages bearing his heir Sher Singh and courtiers. In the foreground, ascetics and street-vendors vie for his attention amid craftsmen, kite-makers and busy bazaars.

The pistols trace their provenance back to the May 1799 siege of Seringapatam when British forces vanquished Tipu Sultan; his weapons and other possessions were looted and taken to Britain. The pieces display a unique “mirror” configuration – one pistol with a left-hand lock and its partner with a right-hand lock — a pairing reportedly preferred by Tipu.

The auction’s Indian and Islamic art category produced several eye-catching results. A late-16th-century Quran manuscript from the library of Akbar the Great sold after a 15-minute bidding fight for £863,600. A set of 52 paintings of Indian costumes, held by the same family for over 225 years, realised £609,600. A Mughal jade-hilted dagger fetched £406,400, and a 17th-century painting of elephants in a mountain lake sold for £139,700.

Sotheby’s reported that around 20 per cent of the purchasers in this week’s sale were new to the auction house, with bidders joining from 25 countries, including India. 

The result highlights growing global appetite for South Asian heritage artefacts, and raises fresh questions about provenance, export licences and cultural patrimony. As these treasures find homes in private collections or public institutions, their sale also prompts reflection on how nations such as India and the UK manage historical legacies and the movement of objects across borders.