Home > US Edition > Report

Sword of Tipu Sultan to be auctioned in London

Shyam Bhatia in London | August 04, 2003 21:45 IST

A mysterious couple from Scotland has put on sale a historic sword that was stolen from the bedroom of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, during the storming of his capital Srirangapatnam (or Seringapatam, as the British called it) in 1799.

Though the couple have insisted on anonymity, they are known to be descendants of Major General Sir David Baird, the British military officer who led the force that broke into Tipu's palace and helped itself to a number of priceless artefacts.

Described by Arthur Wellesley, younger brother of the then governor general of India and later to become famous as the Duke of Wellington, as a "gallant, hard-headed, lion-hearted officer", Gen Baird was characterised by others less well disposed towards him as "a bloody old bad-tempered Scotchman".

Among the other treasures 'taken' by the forces under his command was a magnificent tiger's head adorned in gold leaf ("thick as a sheet of lead"), which was part of Tipu's throne, and a bejewelled bird of paradise. Both are now part of the queen's royal collection stored at Windsor Castle outside London.

The sword, valued at up to £200,000, is of special significance because it is one of only six in existence and was the personal property of the sultan who is revered in India as a national hero for his gallant resistance of the British.

Nimrod Dix, a partner of London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb Limited, who are selling the sword next month, says other swords from Tipu's private collection are currently being held by the royal collection, belonging to Queen Elizabeth II, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

After the 1799 Battle of Seringapatam, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in India, Major General George Harris, decided that one of the captured swords should be gifted to Gen Baird, who subsequently took it back with him to Scotland.

The sword is described by the auctioneers as a "single-edged weapon with a 91cm long blade and an impressive hilt, inlaid with Arabic inscriptions. The back edge of the blade bears a Perso-Arabic inscription, 'Sword of the Ruler'. The scabbard of wood, covered in green velvet, has silvegilt mounts, part decorated in Tipu's favoured tiger stripe design.

"In addition the blade is inscribed: 'The Sword of Tippoo Sultan found in the bed chamber after Seringapatam was taken by storm on 4th May 1799 and presented by the army to General Baird through their commander Major General Harris as a token of their high opinion and his courage and conduct in the assault which he commanded and in which Tippoo Sultan was slain."

Baird's descendants have declared in a statement released through the auctioneers: "We came into the ownership of this magnificent collection on the death of the late Sir David Baird in November 2000. Sir David was the 5th Baronet and directly descended from General Sir David Baird. Our initial thought was that we would retain the collection, but with the passage of time we have decided to offer the items for sale with the hope that most will end up on public view in some form or another."

Other items being sold from the Baird collection include a silver casket, also taken from Srirangapatnam and valued at between £6,000 and £8,000, as well as a gold medal awarded to Baird for his role in the successful storming of Tipu's residential quarters.

Described by historians as one of Scotland's great heroes, Baird is quoted as telling the men under his command at Srirangapatnam in 1799, "Now my brave fellows, follow me and prove yourselves worthy of the name of British soldiers."

Baird was captured by Tipu's forces in an earlier battle in 1780, only to be released as part of a prisoner exchange in 1784. After the Battle of Seringapatam, he led a successful British expedition against Napoleon's forces in Egypt in 1801. In 1806 he helped to capture the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa from the Dutch. Military historians have described how the conquest of the Cape gained for British forces in Africa the springboard for a century of expansion in that continent and, for the Royal Navy, a prestigious port of call that was the key to India.

After serving in India and South Africa, Baird's services were used in Coruna, northwest Spain, against the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. Badly wounded at Coruna in 1809, he retired to his home in Scotland where he died in 1829.

Twice awarded a gold medal for his military exploits, Baird was subsequently awarded a knighthood and then a baronetcy.

But the man who became a hero to his fellow Britons is remembered in India as just another looter from the colonial past.


Article Tools

Email this Article

Printer-Friendly Format

Letter to the Editor













Copyright © 2003 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.