The metalwork of South Asia was highly regarded in the West. To the population of a metalworking city, like Birmingham, the skill and sophistication of such work was of great interest. A range of South Asian metalware was included in the Museum's earliest collections, acquired to provide the City's artisans with examples of new techniques and designs.This shield depicts the great Sikh leader, Maharaja Ranjit Singh known as 'The Lion of the Punjab' (1780-1839), his son, Sher Singh, and two of his generals. In the late eighteenth century, the Sikhs were divided into loose clan affiliations called 'misls'. At the age of twelve, Ranjit Singh succeeded to the leadership of the Sukerchakia misl, set about unifying the Sikh people and forging a Sikh nation. In 1799, he established his capital at Lahore, taking control of the great Mughal imperial armouries, which had been set up there in the sixteenth century, and in which this shield was almost certainly made. This shield, honouring their leader, is an outstanding example of the armoury's work.