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Friday, March 29 2024
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Tippu Sultan’s arms and armour collection auctioned for more than £6 million

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Mysuru: Amid opposition of the descendants of Tippu Sultan, his spectacular collection of arms and armour , was sold at Bonhams Islamic and Indian art sale for a total of more than £6 million.

The 30 items in the auction came  from a single collection. The top lot in the sale was a rare gem-set sword with tiger’s head pommel from Tipu Sultan’s royal array. The sword estimated at £60,000-80,000, was sold for £2,154,500.

A report said, Humayun Mirza, a descendant of Tippu Sultan,  who stays in West Bengal,  has expressed his anguish “Our things are being circulated by collectors, dealers and traders. It’s like heritage being valued through money. That hurts. We want the weapons back in India as museum exhibits.” Humayun and his relatives wanted Tipu’s possessions to be displayed at a museum they are building in Tollygunge, Calcutta. They are gathering together artefacts still owned by the extended family in order to put them on display to honor his military prowess. “We feel bad that this collection is not with us in our country,” he said.

His family were rounded up and expelled to Calcutta, where their living conditions are not the best. Their lucrative estates, which included the Royal Calcutta Golf Club and the Tollygunge Club, one of the leading gentlemen’s clubs of the British Raj were taken over by a trust that refused to pay for their children’s education.  A documentary last year revealed that several of the sultan’s descendants were living in slums and pulling rickshaws.

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