From the Life in the Sikh Kingdoms collection ·
The full story
A broken seal becomes a metaphor for a broken political order. After Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839, the Sikh kingdom experienced succession struggles and two wars with the British East India Company. The annexation of Punjab was announced on 29 March 1849, ending the sovereignty of the Lahore state.
The image turns that large historical change into a small, intimate scene: torn paper, a signet and fragments of red wax. What once appeared whole now has to be read in pieces. The composition asks what remains when the authority behind a document has been taken away—an object, a name, a memory, or a claim that later generations continue to discuss.
This is symbolic campaign artwork. It does not reproduce a documented Khalsa seal or depict a verified act of breaking one. The letters, papers and surrounding objects are imagined. The linked museum history provides the context for the wars and annexation that inspired the card.
Research & sources
Follow the historical record behind this card. Campaign artwork is an interpretation; an object’s ownership, appearance or a person’s likeness needs its own evidence.
Place it in the wider story.
The Anglo-Sikh Wars and the loss of sovereignty ↗
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