Thomas Del Mar’s July 10 sale of antique arms, armour and militaria will include several items with connections to India. They include this royal cased pair of 20-bore Howdah pistols, made for Takhat Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur (1843-73) and presented to his son, Kanwar Shri Jaswant Singh II, by the London maker Charles Lancaster.
The Lancaster records state that these pistols – numbered 3637 and 3638 – were made in 1862 for the maharaja. During this and the preceding year the maharaja bought no fewer than 14 firearms from Lancaster. The inscription on the barrels records their ownership by his son, and successor as maharaja, Kanwar Shri Jaswant Singh II (1838-95). The pistols are estimated at £25,000-30,000 in the sale at Olympia Auctions in West Kensington, London.