A brass-mounted oak and leather cartridge-magazine belonging to the erstwhile maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh is set to go under the hammer in London on December 13.
A brass-mounted oak and leather cartridge-magazine belonging to the erstwhile maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh, along with a number of items with historic Indian links is set to go under the hammer in London on December 13.
The king's cartridge-magazine bearing the impression "H H The Maharajah Sir Bhupindra Singh Of Patiala G.C.I.E. G.C.B." in "Lot 18" has been estimated at 350-550 pounds in the Bonhams sale of Modern Sporting Guns in Knightsbridge.
Bhupindra Singh was throned at the age of nine after his father's death. During the First World War he served on the British general staff in both France and Belgium as well as Italy and Palestine, with the rank of honorary lieutenant-colonel. He was later promoted to honorary lieutenant-general in 1931.
"After the war he visited Europe many times, and in 1935 was granted an audience with Adolf Hitler... who presented him with several German pistols and a Maybach sedan, one of only three Eastern rulers to receive such a gift. Despite the worries of the British, he kept the car, alongside his legendary fleet of twenty-seven Rolls-Royce limousines," says auction house in a statement.
Along with the maharaja's property, a pair of 12-bore shotguns by J Purdey and Sons, formerly the property of Field -Marshal Sir Douglas Haig is up for auction and estimated to sell between 15,000 to 20,000 pounds.
As a young military officer Haig spent the first years of his career in India and South Africa.
"This is an unusual pair of Purdeys for the period and together with the provenance they are very collectible," according to Patrick Hawes, Head, Sporting Guns at Bonhams.
Lot 25 in the Bonham's London auction on December 13 is a James Purdey & Sons brass-mounted oak and leather double-guncase of field marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar VC (1832-1914).
Lot 66, a colt revolver completed in 1878, the year that Colt's London Agency opened, was owned by Lieutenant Charles Legendre Johnstone Bourchier (1851-1891), the son of the commandant of Kurachee during the Indian mutiny.
Bonhams has a separate 'modern sporting gun department' is known for the auction of premier sporting guns. Annually the auction house holds three sales of sporting guns, rifles and related firearms.
Meanwhile on December 1, Bonhams is auctioning a 1912 Lanchester state limousine, which was specially made for the Maharajah of Rewa, on December 1 at its Mercedes-Benz world sale at Weybridge.
The limousine featuring a removable top and driver's canopy that allows the car to be used as an open tourer has attracted a pre-sale estimate of 80,000 ?" 100,000 pounds.
The auctioneers say this type of car was a favourite among Indian nobility and favoured in particular by Maharajas. The Indian market had absorbed a considerable amount of the Lanchester factory output.
"The Rewa maharaja was so impressed with car that he later ordered a 40hp Lanchester as its successor," says the auction house.
Returned to the UK in the 1960s and initially acquired by North Country collector, Douglas Thompson of Teesside, it has remained with the present owners for 27 years, forming the 'jewel in the crown' of a collection of significant Lanchester motor cars. Restored during its previous ownership, the car remains smartly presented in its maroon livery with red coach lining.
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