Fakir Khana () is a private museum and house located in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, owned by the Fakir family. Fakhir Khana contains over 20,000 objects, and is the largest privately owned museum in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
.
Location
The museum is located within Lahore's
Walled City
The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls.
Africa Algeria
* Algiers
* Ghardaïa
* Timimoun
Egypt
See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortifications and city walls.
* Al-Fustat
* Cairo
* Damietta
Ethiopia
* Harar
Libya
*Apo ...
, along the ''Hakimaan'' Bazaar, near the
Bhati Gate
Bhati Gate (; ) is one of the historic thirteen gates of the Walled City of Lahore in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Bhati Gate also serves as a union council located in the Ravi Zone.
The gate is located near Data Darbar and is similar in desig ...
, one of the famous 13 gates of the old Walled City.
Background
The Fakir family settled in Lahore around 1730, and established a publishing house.
[ Their status in Lahore society derived from its connections to the ]Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...
- three of the family's ancestors, Fakir Nooruddin, Fakir Azizuddin, and Fakir Imamuddin, served as emissaries to Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839.
Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...
.[ The family amassed a collection of objects, including many bestowed to the family by Ranjit Singh.][ The family opened their house as a museum open to the public in 1901,]
Collection
The museum's collection consists of approximately 20,000 pieces of art and artifacts mostly from the 18th to 20th centuries,[ as well as 10,000 manuscripts, 180 displayed miniature paintings, Sikh-era textiles, statuary, pottery, and carved ivory pieces.][ The collection also includes a 12 by 6 inch painting of Nawab Mumtaz Ali, that was painted with a single hair and required 15 years to be completed.]
House
The house in which the museum is located offers insight into the lifestyles of upper class Lahori families during the Sikh and British eras.Raja Todar Mal
Raja Todar Mal (1523-24 – 8 November 1589) was an Indian minister, economist, and military commander who served as the Finance Minister (Diwan-i-Ashraff) of the Mughal empire during the reign of Akbar I. He was also the Vakil-us-Sultanat ( ...
, finance minister to the Mughal Emperor Akbar
Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
.
References
External links
Fakir KhanaFakir Khana at museumstuff.comBBC covering Fakir Khana
Fakir Khana Museum at Google Cultural Institute
{{coord, 31.5832, N, 74.3097, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Museums in Punjab, Pakistan
Walled City of Lahore