Indian circa 1910
An early 20th century unmarked silver frame of portrait miniatures

The frame of heart shape, with eight apertures for Indian painted miniatures on ivory, comprising six portrait miniatures and two miniatures of the differing views of the Taj Mahal. Engraved beneath as follows; Bahadur Shah, Ranjet Singgh Gulab Singh, Noor Jahan, Sultan Baber, Taj Bebe, and Taj Mahal twice. Wooden easel backing, velvet covered.

Length – 19.6 cm / 7.75 inches

The story of India’s rulers is not a straight line but a woven fabric, where dynasties rise, fall, and overlap. At its beginning stands Sultan Babur (1483 - 1530), the founder of the Mughal Empire. A descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan, Babur carved his dominion into Hindustan in 1526 at the Battle of Panipat. His legacy set the stage for centuries of Mughal rule, a dynasty that would shape India’s culture, politics, and architecture.

Among the many women who defined the Mughal court, Nur Jahan (1577 - 1645) shines brightly. Wife of Emperor Jahangir, she was a remarkable political force, issuing royal orders in her own name and minting coins. Her influence represented a rare moment when female power in the Mughal court was formally acknowledged.

In contrast, Taj Bibi, a lesser-known but historically poignant figure, was the first wife of Humayun (Babur’s son). Though her story is often overshadowed, she reflects the early continuity of the Mughal household. It was another empress, Mumtaz Mahal, who would inspire the construction of the Taj Mahal, the white marble mausoleum that became the empire’s ultimate symbol of love, loss, and imperial grandeur.

Fast forward three centuries, and the Mughal flame was flickering. Bahadur Shah II (Bahadur Shah Zafar, 1775 - 1862), the last Mughal emperor, presided more as a poet than a sovereign. By the time of the 1857 uprising, he was little more than a symbolic leader, the empire having long ceded real power to the British. His exile to Rangoon marked the end of the dynasty Babur had founded.

Parallel to this decline, new powers were emerging in the north. Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780 - 1839), the “Lion of Punjab,” had carved out the Sikh Empire, uniting the misls into a formidable state with Lahore as its glittering capital. His empire stood as a bulwark against both Mughal weakness and British advance. Within his court rose Gulab Singh (1792 - 1857), a Dogra noble who, after the First Anglo-Sikh War, maneuvered himself into sovereignty. By purchasing Kashmir from the British in 1846, Gulab Singh became the founder of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, a realm that would remain under his dynasty until 1947.

Thus, in a sweep of centuries, we see a story of shifting sovereignties: from Babur’s first victories, through the grandeur of Nur Jahan and the Taj Mahal, to the poetry and decline of Bahadur Shah Zafar, and the parallel rise of Ranjit Singh and Gulab Singh. Together, they reflect the fluidity of Indian history, empires collapsing, new powers rising, and the enduring symbols of love and authority etched in marble and memory.

Ivory declaration: BMS7E7V2