Crafted in Lahore around 1830, this magnificent shield is made of blued steel, overlaid with gold and velvet quilted cotton padding.

To the population of a metalworking city such as Birmingham, the evident skill and sophistication of such work was of great interest. A whole range of historic and contemporary South Asian metal wares was included amongst the Museum's earliest collections, acquired to provide the city's artisans with examples of new techniques and designs of the highest quality.

The quality of this spectacular sikh shield, however, is unusually high. The form is typical of traditional Indo-Persian shields, originally introduced to the region by Islamic peoples from the North and West: circular, slightly convex, and heavily padded on the interior. The four bosses in the centre cover the bolts which hold the hand grips in position. The shield has a subtle, blued surface, which has been richly ornamented by gold overlay in a technique known as koftgari. The outline of the design is chiselled out, and the surface of the steel roughened by cross hatching. Gold wire is then hammered onto the surface, where it adheres to the roughened areas.

The special importance of this shield, lies in the images with which it is ornamented. Contained within a border filled with animals are four mounted figures representing the great Sikh leader, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, his son Sher Singh, and two of his generals.

Ranjit Singh, The Lion of the Punjab is identified by his long, pointed beard, simple clothing and traditional nimbus. Indeed, it is under his reign as emperor that this shield was most likely made at the former Mughal imperial armouries which had been taken over. With the active defence policies of Ranjit Singh's court, these armouries continued to receive a large proportion of courtly patronage. This piece, honouring the emperor, is an outstanding example of craftsmanship of those armouries.

See it on display in the Industrial Gallery

Image © Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery