Fakir Khana Museum

 Located inside the Walled City of Lahore, Fakir Khana Museum is one of the largest privately owned museums in South Asia. It was established over a century ago by the Fakir family, who served as advisers and diplomats during the Sikh and British era. The museum holds a vast collection of rare manuscripts, miniature paintings, coins, weapons, ancient maps, textiles, and relics of Mughal, Sikh, and British rule. It also contains artifacts related to famous figures like Ranjit Singh and Tipu Sultan. Fakir Khana is more than a museum it is a living archive of South Asian history, preserved within an old haveli.

he museum itself is in a small house in the inner city. The Fakirs were an important family during the Sikh rule of Punjab in the 1700s. Fakir was an ascetic and his sons took over in his role as an important member and minister in the court of the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh. This small museum showcases the history of Lahore and contains important pieces such as relics from the Prophet Muhammad’s (P.B.U.H) time as well as swords, jewels and coins dating back to the Sikh era and the Mughal rule of the city. Collections within the Museum have been passed through generations within the Fakir Family and number approx 30,000 items from British, Sikh and Mughal eras. The Museum has survived several wars and the India-Pakistan partition. Held within the Fakir Family were several prominent mansions (Havelis) in and around Lahore e.g. Mubarak Haveli and others. The art from those mansions and personal pieces collected by several prominent members of the Fakir Family have also been incorporated into the Fakir Khana collection. Historically the Family was known to possess a large collection of jewels and jewelled artifacts-many of which were personal gifts to the Fakir Brothers by Maharajah Ranjit Singh.