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Jindan Kaur's necklace fetches Rs
41 lakh
LONDON: A 19th
century emerald and seed-pearl necklace worn by Jindan Kaur, wife of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, sold for 55,200 pounds (Rs 41
lakh), much higher than the pre-sale estimates, at an auction here
on October 8. The identity of the buyer was not immediately known.
The necklace has
six polished emerald beads, one later converted to a pendant, each
bead gold-mounted and fringed with seed-pearl drop tassels, fastened
with a gold clasp.
It comes with a
fitted cloth covered case, the inside of the lid inscribed: "From
the Collection of the Court of Lahore formed by The Maharajah
Runjeet Singh and lastly worn by Her Highness The Late Maharanee
Jeddan Kower."
This rare necklace,
highlight of Bonhams Indian and Islamic sale, comes from the
collection of Ranjit Singh and Kaur (1817-63), which was sold by
Frazer and Hawes from Garrards at Regent Street here.
Kaur was born in
1817 in Chahar in Sialkot in Punjab. Of humble origins, she was the
daughter of Manna Singh Aulakh, the royal kennel keeper at the court
of Lahore. In 1835, she became Ranjit Singh's 17th wife and in 1838
bore him a son, Duleep. Duleep was his last child and just 10 months
later Ranjit Singh died following a stroke.
14
October 2009
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