A jade flask that once belonged to Robert Clive is expected to fetch £1 million when it is auctioned at Christie's in London in April.
It was victory at the 1757 Battle of Plassey that established the foundations of British rule over India and made Clive a hero to every English schoolboy.
British imperial historians traditionally describe him as an honourable man, somehow managing to overlook the £160,000 worth of treasure he helped himself to from the Bengal treasury.
Among Indian historians he cuts a more controversial figure.
Christie's describe the flask as the 'largest Mughal inset flask' ever offered at auction and part of a larger selection from the Clive collection that also includes a jewelled dagger, a flywhisk and a hukka.
The value of the blue enamelled hukka decorated with sapphires is estimated between £50,000 and £80,000.
Christie's believe it may have been specially commissioned for Clive's personal use.
The flywhisk made from banded agate and inset with rubies is valued between £5000 and £8,000.
"The superb craftsmanship, quality and colour of the precious stones, and the astonishing condition, all combine to make the jewelled jade flask one of the most glorious of all Mughal jewelled artefacts to have survived to the present day," says a Christie's spokesman.
"Painstakingly created by a craftsman working at the Mughal Court and standing just over 25 cm high, the jade flask is intricately decorated in bands of emeralds and studded with ruby flowers, all set in gold.
"The flask was possibly acquired by Clive following his victory at Plassey in June 1757 over Siraj-ud Daulah, Nawab of Bengal," the spokesman adds.
"As a reward for his help, the new Nawab, Mir Jaffir threw open the treasury and invited Clive to take what he wanted. There is no question that some artefacts in the Clive Collection were acquired at that time. In parliament at a later enquiry into whether he had gained his fortune through questionable means, Clive exclaimed, 'By God, Mr Chairman, at this moment I stand astonished at my own moderation.'"
