A map of the Sikh Empire. A highly detailed map of the Northern India, Pakistan and Nepal, published in 1849 by John Arrowsmith. The map shows the soon to be dissolved region created through conquest by the Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). Singh was the founder and first ruler of the Sikh Empire. He began as a Misldar (Baron) in the Punjab, Singh had taken control of the entire region by 1800. By the time he died, the Sikh Empire covered Punjab, Kashmir, and parts of modern day Afghanistan, Tibet and China. Singh is most famous for the secular tolerance of his Empire and for his ownership of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. Ranjit Singh left the diamond to a temple in his will on his death in 1839, but his wishes were ignored by British administrators. A decade later, the Punjab, and thus the diamond, came under the control of the East India Company and the stone was given to Queen Victoria.

When this map was printed the Sikh Empire was on the brink of dissolution. After Ranjit Singh’s death, a series of short-lived rulers took the throne, often dying under suspicious circumstances. The East India Company took advantage of this internal weakness to launch the Anglo-Sikh Wars, which culminated in the separation of the empire back into princely states under the supervision of a British Lieutenant Governor in Lahore in 1849. The region was, therefore, of renewed interest to British observers, possibly explaining why Arrowsmith chose to issue the map.

The map notes that it is based upon the manuscript map of Baron Charles von Hügel (1795-1870). Von Hügel, an Austrian statesman and scientist, made a five year tour of Asia in 1831. His ‘Kashmir and the Realm of the Sikh’, was tremendously influential, resulting in his being awarded the Patron’s Medal by the Royal Geographical Society.

John Arrowsmith (1790-1873) operated his own independent business after his uncle, Aaron Arrowsmith, died. After 1839, John moved into the Soho premises of his uncle and cousins. John enjoyed considerable recognition in the geography and exploration community. Like Aaron, John was a founder member of the RGS and would serve as its unofficial cartographer for 43 years. Several geographical features in Australia and Canada are named after him. He died in 1873 and the majority of his stock was eventually bought by Edward Stanford, who co-founded the Stanford’s map shop that is still open in Covent Garden, London today. A rare map, we note only 2 prior examples at auction and in dealer catalogues.