The mural was the centrepiece at the ‘Arts of the Islamic World and India’ sale at Sotheby's auction house.
“The painting extends over 10 large sheets of paper, nearly thirty-two feet (978.5 cm) long, and focuses in on the moment when the Company’s ammunition tumbril explodes, breaking the British square, while Tipu’s cavalry advances from left and right, ‘like waves of an angry sea’,” according to the contemporary Mughal historian Ghulam Husain Khan.
The victory at Pollilur was largely due to Tipu’s and his father’s efforts to modernise the Mysore army and the use of modern artillery, including the infamous iron-cased Mysore rockets.
“What this painting has is the terror and anarchy and violence of battle. It's arguably the greatest Indian picture of the defeat of colonialism that survives. it's (a) unique and fantastic artwork,” said Sotheby's expert William Dalrymple, author of ‘The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company'.
“Tipu Sultan was probably the most effective opponent that the East India Company ever faced. Tipu showed that the Indians could fight back, that they could win… the first time that a European army is defeated in India is in this Battle of Pollilur,” Dalrymple said.
Tipu, whose real name was Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, had received his first command during the battle and had commemorated the battle by having its scenes painted in his palace, the Daria Daulat Bagh in Srirangapatna. The same scenes were also painted on paper using ink and gouache pigments twice, with one of the paintings being acquired by the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar.
In a cruel twist of fate, the paintings were brought to England by Colonel John William Freese, after Tipu’s death and defeat in 1799. The painting was auctioned by Freese’s descendants to a private collector in 1978, reported the BBC. The second painting, which Sotheby's auctioned, is assumed to have arrived in England in much the same manner though the details are less certain about this copy.
A gem-set and enamelled gold shield, India, Jaipur, 19th century. (Images: Sotheby's)Another item at the auction was “a gem-set and enamelled gold shield” from 19th century Jaipur, which was sold for nearly $340,000. “This magnificent shield must have been crafted to commemorate a particular event; several shields were presented to the Prince of Wales during his visit to India in 1875-76, all luxuriously enamelled and set with precious stone,” Sotheby's said.
#AuctionUpdate Crafted in Jaipur in the 19th century, the densely decorated enameling of this beautiful shield features a menagerie of creatures.
It soars to £258,300, multiples of its estimate of £40,000-60,000. #SothebysIndian #SothebysMiddleEast pic.twitter.com/2zj9ePUk2r— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) March 30, 2022
While Tipu’s legacy remains firmly entrenched as a battle-hardened technocrat who could match European powers in England, it has become a new political battleground in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party which rules Karnataka ended the birth anniversary celebrations after it came into power in 2019, and has conducted a review of textbooks that glorify Muslim leaders like Tipu. Many right-wing leaders have accused Tipu of being responsible for the death of Hindus and proselytisation of many more during his rule.
