MORE than 18,000 people have visited a major exhibition at a Bradford gallery, making it one of its most popular yet.

The Splendours of the Subcontinent: A Prince’s Tour of India 1875-6 opened at Cartwright Hall in March, and has attracted thousands to the Lister Park gallery.

The exhibition will be open for a further two weeks before it moves to Leicester.

The free exhibition contains 70 Indian works of art from the Royal Collection, and tells the story of the grand tour of the Indian subcontinent made by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, in 1875-6.

On his trip the prince met nearly 100 rulers and was presented with gifts produced using renowned Indian techniques.

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The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with Bradford Council’s Museums and Galleries Service and Royal Collection Trust, and offers a rare glimpse of artefacts that have rarely been open to public view.

They include a gold and diamond-set ink stand in the form of a state barge, a pair of peacock-feather fans, ceremonial weaponry and a card tray made from an intricately carved mother of pearl shell. They appear along with watercolours, photographs and metalwork.

Bradford is the only northern stop of the tour.

Maggie Pedley, the Council’s libraries, museums and galleries manager, said: “This exhibition has been so successful. We have had over 18,000 people from all over the country coming to see the amazing objects so far.

“As there are only two weeks left for people to see Splendours of the Subcontinent, I would encourage people to hurry up and not miss out.”

In October 1875, the Prince of Wales set off on a four-month tour, visiting 21 localities which today encompass India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal.

He travelled 7,600 miles by land and 2,300 miles by sea, meeting rulers of the different regions.

His visit sought to establish personal links with the local rulers and strengthen ties between the subcontinent and the British Crown prior to the declaration of his mother, Queen Victoria, as the Empress of India.

The exhibition runs until Sunday, June 18. For more information, visit bradfordmuseums.org.

Cartwright Hall is also preparing for a major permanent exhibition of works by Bradford-born artist David Hockney, due to open on Friday, July 7.

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