An exhibition that charts the story of the Sikh empire is coming to London.
Titled the Empire of the Sikhs, the exhibition runs from July 12 to September 23 at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS and it is being organized by the UK Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA).
Story of the Sikh empire will be told through a stunning array of over 100 objects and works of art from leading private and public collections.
On display will be jewelry and weaponry from the Sikh Empire including personal items that belonged to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Jind Kaur, one of his 30 wives.
Speaking of the exhibition, Chair of the UKPHA Amandeep Singh Madra OBE said: "UKPHA are excited to tell the story of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the briefly-lived but hugely influential Sikh Empire.
"The riches of the empire's treasury included the much contested Koh-i-nûr diamond that now sits, albeit in a much reduced form, in the Queen Mother's Crown. That such treasures are now considered integral to the British state, whilst others were sold off in auction, is part of the legacy of the rise and fall of the Empire of the Sikhs – a fascinating story that resonates strongly to this day."
Objects and works of art on display at the Empire of the Sikhs exhibition will also honour the European and American adventurers who served the Sikh empire.
Agatha Christie boarding the EET Salon at lunchtime on the train from Bulawayo to the Cape. In 1922 Agatha Christie set sail on a 10-month voyage around the world. Her husband Archie had been invited to join a trade mission to promote the British Empire Exhibition and Agatha was determined to go with him The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie under a tree on Honolulu beach after surfing, 1922. Agatha and her husband Archie were permitted to take a short holiday away from the 1922 trade mission and chose Honolulu where they learnt how to surf on longboards. Here Agatha purchased a surf suit in the local style, better suited to the demands of surfing than her swim attire for bathing in Torquay. The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie relaxing during a sightseeing tour, Tajoura, Libya, 1955. Agatha and her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan had invited Agatha's daughter Rosalind and grandson Mathew to join them on a tour of the ancient sites of Leptis Magna and Sabratah during December 1955. The Christie Archive Trust
Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express, 201720th Century Studios
Still from Murder on the Orient Express, 201720th Century Studios
Still from And Then There Were None, 2015, BBC Agatha Christie Limited
Still from And Then There Were None, 2015, BBCAgatha Christie Limited
Still from And Then There Were None, 2015, BBCAgatha Christie Limited
Agatha Christie’s Remington typewriter from 1937 The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie’s Remington typewriter from 1937The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie’s study notes for her pharmaceutical exam taken in 1917The Christie Archive Trust
Letter from Agatha Christie to her second husband Max Mallowan, in December 1930. Agatha writes to Max describing her return home from their honeymoon, on the Orient Express. Documenting how the train had been halted by floods and her fellow travellers' reactions, this event would inspire her to write Murder on the Orient Express a few years later.The Christie Archive Trust
Cover of typescript ofHouse of Beauty, Agatha Christie’s first short story written when she was just a teenager.The Christie Archive Trust
Box for Tabloid Veronal tablets,1910-1940 Science Museum Group
Chemical storage bottle and glass stopper, labelled ‘POISON phosphorus P’,1907-1912Science Museum Group
Empty poison bottle for aconite, iodine and chloretone solution,1925-1960Science Museum Group
Newby Teas