Lot 142
PERSONAL PROPERTY OF ASAF JAH VIII, THE LAST NIZAM OF HYDERABAD
INDIA, 19TH - 20TH CENTURY
Auction: 09 December 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
comprising nine items, including a silver and parcel gilt case, interspersed with vertical green stripes decorated with bamboo, on the front are the initials A & W, with a portrait of Prince Azam Jah Bahadur, the last Nizam of Hyderabad; a crested silver case featuring the official monogram and personal coat of arms of Nawab Sir Asman Jah Bahadur, a Leather Belt with the insignia of, The Deccan Horse (9 Horse); a set of three framed photographs including Shrimant Narayanrao Govindrao Ghorpade (1870-1943) a young Mir Mahboob Ali Khan and Sir Mir Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung I (1829–1883)
Dimensions
silver and parcel gilt case 11cm x 8.5cm (171g), silver crested case 12.3cm x 7.3cm x 2cm (163g)
Provenance
Gregson's Auctioneers, Perth, Australia, 1995, The Contents of Havelock House, former residence of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Stirling Galleries, Perth, Australia.
Private Collection, Australia.
Footnote
Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah Bahadur (Asaf Jah VIII), the eighth and last titular Nizam of Hyderabad, lived a dramatic life defined by a stunning reversal of fortune. Born in France to Indian and Ottoman royal lineage, he was chosen by his grandfather to inherit the legendary titles and immense wealth of Hyderabad in 1967. However, his inheritance was deeply entangled with staggering debts, legal disputes, and a massive palace staff, compounded by India abolishing princely privileges in 1971. Overwhelmed by litigation, Jah abandoned his royal duties to run a remote sheep station in the Australian outback. Following failed business ventures and costly divorces, he eventually fled his creditors to live a reclusive, modest life in Istanbul, Turkey. Upon his death at age 89 in January 2023, he was returned to Hyderabad for a state funeral, officially ending the final chapter of the historic Asaf Jahi dynasty.