DHAKA: The Bangladeshi government has ordered a committee to unseal a state bank vault containing 108 treasures belonging to the former nawab family of Dhaka after more than a century.
Khawaja Naim Murad, great-grandson of the last nawab, maintains hope that the legendary Darya-e-Noor diamond and other heirlooms remain intact despite decades of political turmoil.
The vault was sealed in 1908 when Sir Salimullah Bahadur mortgaged his estates and placed the treasures as collateral during financial difficulties under British colonial rule.
Original court documents describe a spectacular collection including a gold-and-silver diamond-encrusted sword, a bejewelled fez with cascading pearls, and a star brooch once owned by a French empress.
Murad recounted family stories describing the rectangular Darya-e-Noor diamond as the centrepiece of a glittering armband surrounded by more than half a dozen smaller diamonds.
The family book contains detailed paintings of the treasures and claims the diamond’s history is closely associated with the Koh-i-Noor, now part of Britain’s crown jewels.
Another diamond of the same name, the pink-hued Daria-i-Noor, remains in Tehran as part of Iran’s former royal jewels collection.
Murad believes the family diamond was once owned by Persia’s shahs and later worn by Sikh warrior-leader Ranjit Singh before being acquired by his ancestors.
The 1908 court papers valued the diamond at 500,000 rupees as part of a hoard worth 1.8 million rupees, roughly equivalent to $13 million today.
Experts note that the market value of such rare and large jewels could have soared many times higher since their original valuation.
Shawkat Ali Khan, managing director of Sonali Bank, confirmed the vault remains sealed despite previous inspection teams only opening the gate that held the vault.
The family hopes to discover whether any century-old debt remains outstanding and potentially reclaim their ancestral treasures.
Murad expressed that his ultimate wish is simply to see the treasure for himself, believing that unresolved debt prevents ancestral souls from finding peace. – AFP
