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ਦਰਸ਼ਨ Darshan · Heritage Art

A Darshan a Day

One masterwork of Sikh heritage each day — Janamsakhi paintings, the earliest photographs of the Harmandir Sahib, the court of the Sikh Empire — with its story, and the long road each treasure travelled to reach you.

ਦਰਸ਼ਨ · Today’s Darshan

Painted on Glass — Maharaja Ranjit Singh, laid down in reverse on the back of the glass (Kehar Singh, c. 1849)

Painted on Glass

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, laid down in reverse on the back of the glass

Kehar Singh · c. 1849 · Victoria and Albert Museum, London (03530 IS)

This portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is painted on the back of a sheet of glass. It is a delicate and unforgiving art: every stroke is laid down in reverse, the details first and the background last, and nothing can be corrected once it is done. Kehar Singh, a painter of the Lahore court, made it around 1849 — the very decade the Sikh empire came to an end. A golden halo rings the Maharaja and jewels cover his robe, while in his hand he holds only a simple white cloth.

Ranjit Singh had lost the sight of one eye to smallpox as a child, and painters who worked close to him showed it plainly — here his gaze falls gently to one side. Over the years the glass has cracked, a fine net of lines spreading across the image, which somehow makes it feel closer and more human. It is kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The road it travelled

  • c. 1849 — painted at Lahore by the court artist Kehar Singh, gouache on glass
  • acquired by the South Kensington Museum (today the Victoria and Albert Museum)
  • today — Victoria and Albert Museum, London (03530 IS)
Medium
Gouache on glass (reverse painting) · 50.8 × 40.6 cm
School
Lahore
Collection
Victoria and Albert Museum, London (03530 IS)
Licence
Public domain

The collection

The Maharaja Listens — August Theodor Schoefft The Maharaja Listens August Theodor Schoefft · c. 1850–55, from an 1841 sketch The Road to Mecca — Alam Chand Raj The Road to Mecca Alam Chand Raj · 1733 The Earliest Light — Felice Beato The Earliest Light Felice Beato · 1858–59 The Court of Lahore — August Theodor Schoefft The Court of Lahore August Theodor Schoefft · c. 1850–55, from drawings made at Lahore c. 1841 The Illuminated Word — Unknown scribe and illuminator The Illuminated Word Unknown scribe and illuminator · c. 1820 The General Rides Out — Attributed to the family workshop of Abdullah The General Rides Out Attributed to the family workshop of Abdullah · c. 1825–35 The Boy King — Franz Xaver Winterhalter The Boy King Franz Xaver Winterhalter · 1854 The Search at the Kali Bein — Unknown The Search at the Kali Bein Unknown · late 18th – early 19th century The Throne of the Timeless — William Simpson The Throne of the Timeless William Simpson · 1864 The Rebel Queen — Unknown The Rebel Queen Unknown · 19th century The Marble Bridge — Samuel Bourne (attributed), Bourne & Shepherd The Marble Bridge Samuel Bourne (attributed), Bourne & Shepherd · c. 1863–64 The Durbar of the Lion — Imam Bakhsh Lahori The Durbar of the Lion Imam Bakhsh Lahori · c. 1841 The Rider with the Falcon — Unknown The Rider with the Falcon Unknown · early 19th century The Lion of Punjab — Emily Eden The Lion of Punjab Emily Eden · drawn 1838, published 1844 The Akali by the Causeway — William Carpenter The Akali by the Causeway William Carpenter · February 1854 The Ten Masters — Unknown The Ten Masters Unknown · late 19th century The Warrior-Saint — Unknown The Warrior-Saint Unknown · c. 1700 The Shield of Conscience — Unknown The Shield of Conscience Unknown · c. 1800 The Gentle Master — Seu-Nainsukh atelier The Gentle Master Seu-Nainsukh atelier · c. 1800–1825 The Birth of the Khalsa — Unknown The Birth of the Khalsa Unknown · c. 1890s A Promise Kept — Unknown — Gurdwara Baba Atal muralists A Promise Kept Unknown — Gurdwara Baba Atal muralists · 19th century Two Sardars — Unknown Two Sardars Unknown · late 18th century Painted on Glass — Kehar Singh Painted on Glass Kehar Singh · c. 1849 The Court of Sher Singh — Kehar Singh The Court of Sher Singh Kehar Singh · c. 1842–46 The Akalis on the March — Company School (possibly the artist Sanee) The Akalis on the March Company School (possibly the artist Sanee) · c. 1850–60

Every work shown here is in the public domain (or released CC0 by the museum that keeps it), and each panel links its original source record. Reproductions are shown whole, never cropped or recoloured; one low-resolution source (The Boy King) has been gently enlarged with AI for screen display. Gurbani belongs to all — and so, we believe, does the art history of the Panth.