The inscribed steel armour plate will be auctioned in Sotheby's Arts of the Islamic World Sale – the most important of its kind the company has ever staged - on Wednesday, April 9, 2008.

The steel plate would originally have been part of a set of body armour known by its Persian name, char-aina ("four mirrors") comprising back, front, and two side plates. The significance of the Sotheby's armour plate lies in its close similarity to a known example of Guru Gobind Singh's personal armour preserved in a royal collection of erstwhile princely state of Patiala. The existence of a second set leads experts to believe that the Guru's armourers were commissioned to produce another.

Measurement of Armour is 29cm x 21cm. The Armour is to described as rectangular slightly convex form, decorated with gold overlay with a central panel of calligraphy with six horizontal inscription bands bordered by scrolling split-palmette and floral bands, four loops to corner with palmette terminals and foliate gold overlaid decoration.

This sale comes at a time when Sikh heritage objects have realised impressive prices in London's auction houses. In recent years collectors and dealers clashed in frenzied bidding wars; the most remarkable example was witnessed at Bonham's in April 2007, when a marble bust of Maharaja Duleep Singh sculpted by John Gibson in 1859, came under the hammer at the astonishing sum of £1.7 million. Bonham's had expected it to fetch up to £30,000.

The auction on April 9, 2008, which comprises 400 lots of rare and important works of art, is expected to realise in excess of £9 million. It will be the only ever to have offered a relic belonging to a Sikh Guru. As such, it is set to attract enormous interest from collectors and connoisseurs of Sikh heritage across the globe.
The Sotheby's example is virtually identical to another armour plate from a complete char-aina set currently housed in the collection of the royal family of Patiala in Punjab. Each plate in the Patiala set is adorned with verses rendered in gold Gurmukhi script from the Sikh scriptures, including the opening verses of Guru Nanak's "Japji Sahib", and Guru Gobind Singh's "Jaap Sahib" and "Akal Ustat".

According to a well-established family tradition, the set was gifted to one of their ancestors by Guru Gobind Singh.  If family lore is to be believed, the existence of the Sotheby's armour plate points to another set having been commissioned by the Guru.

The close relationship between the Guru and the Patiala family is attested to in the saying "Tera ghar mera asay" ("Your house is my refuge"). This phrase appears in the Guru's hukamnama (royal decree) dated August 2, 1696 and addressed to the sons of Phul, the founder of the Patiala dynasty. The brothers Rama and Tilokha were called upon by the Guru to send a detachment of cavalry to assist in his battles against the Hill Rajas. The letter, which bestowed special status on the house of Patiala, reads:

"There is one Creator-Preserver-Destroyer. The Guru is great. It is the order of the Guru. Bhai Rama and Bhai Tilokha, the Guru will protect all. You are required to come with your contingent. I am much pleased with you. Your house is my refuge. On seeing this letter you should come in my presence. Your house is my refuge. You should come to me immediately. On seeing this letter you should arrive with horsemen. Do come. I have sent one robe of honour. Keep it with you."

The Sotheby's armour plate also carries the opening verse of "Akal Ustat" as found on the Guru's personal "Raikot" sword: One Creator-Destroyer-Preserver. (Copied from the manuscript) with the authentic signature (of Guru Gobind Singh) in praise of the Immortal Being, (and written in) the 10th reign (by the Guru). The Immortal Being protects me. All-Iron protects me. All-Death protects me. All-Iron always protects me. Next is the scribe's signature… The wondrous Guru.

The inscription has been delicately applied on the plate's central panel in gold koftgari, the traditional technique of overlaying gold wire onto a steel surface. The floral border and buckles that would have fastened the set together with straps are also lavishly decorated in gold koftgari work.

In keeping with the highest standards associated with the Guru's personal armory, the plate's central panel has been forged from "watered steel", a fabled material better known in the West as Damascus Steel. This specially prepared steel was cherished by Indian and Persian blacksmiths who used it in conjunction with the ancient techniques of their craft to create the finest and most valuable blades and armour before the advent of modern manufacturing techniques.