There was no shortage of desirable names among the 1370-lot Fine & Decorative three-day sale at Kingham & Orme (23% buyer’s premium), such as Charles Ashbee, Omar Ramsden, Lalique, Christopher Dresser and William de Morgan.
But of all the names on offer, probably the most talked about was that of Duleep Singh (1838-93), the son of the founder of the Sikh Empire, Maharajah Ranjit Singh.
After the maharajah’s death in 1839, the Punjab disintegrated into a chaotic power struggle and in 1849 proved easy pickings for the British and the East India Company.