Purtaub Singh

1844

Lithograph on paper

15.25 x 11.75 in   |  39 x 30 cm

"This is a lithograph of plate 19 from Emily Eden's 'Portraits of the Princes and People of India'. After Ranjit Singh died in 1839, the Sikh nation descended into confusion and anarchy in the battles to establish his successor. His son Sher Singh finally ascended the throne in 1841, but was killed by some Sikh chieftains in a massacre at Lahore in September 1843. His young son Partap Singh was also killed.

In 1838, Ranjit Singh appointed Sher Singh to attend to the Governor General's entourage on its visit to the Sikh kingdom. Sher took Partap with him. Eden described Partap as "a boy of ten or twelve years old, of remarkably fine spirit and promise, with large expressive eyes, and manners which could be perfectly composed and dignified, or boyish and playful at will. He was a great favourite with the whole of the Governor-General's party." (Source: British Library Board)

Known for her amusing accounts of English life in the 19th century, Emily Eden was a reputed poet and artist from London. Born into a family of aristocrats, Eden was acquainted with British political affairs and life from a young age.

When her brother was appointed as Governor-General to India in 1836, Eden, along with her sister, accompanied him and travelled around the subcontinent for a few years. During this time, she documented the personalities she encountered and occasions she witnessed through a series of richly detailed sketches. From portraits of Indian aristocrats and servants, to depictions of royal ceremonies and major political events, her sketches serve both as a personal and historical memoir of colonial India. In 1844, a few years after her return to England, these drawings were published as a set of monochrome and hand-painted lithographs known as Portraits of the People and Princes of India.

Eden also recorded her life and observations in India in a collection of delightfully written letters addressed to her sister, which were later published as the travel books Up the Country and Letters from India. She is also known for her novels The Semi-detached House and The Semi-attached Couple.

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