Matthew Thomas
Senior Specialist
Lot 153*
A silver-mounted Flintlock Sporting Gun from the personal armoury of Tipu Sultan, by Sayyid Ma'sum Seringapatam, dated Mawludi 1221/ AD 1792-93
21 April 2015, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £110,500 inc. premium
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A silver-mounted Flintlock Sporting Gun from the personal armoury of Tipu Sultan, by Sayyid Ma'sum
Seringapatam, dated Mawludi 1221/ AD 1792-93
Seringapatam, dated Mawludi 1221/ AD 1792-93
the barrel of 16-bore, extending from the tang with a flat top then round until the muzzle, silver fore-sight within a gold floral cartouche, a band of gold bubri pattern around the muzzle, a bayonet lug underneath the muzzle, a Persian quatrain mentioning Timur Shah followed by a single flower and trellis pattern extending to the muzzle on the top flat, the flat to the left and right sides with foliage enclosing a gold tiger stalking a silver antelope, the 'Haydar' talismanic square at the base of the breech on the top flat, the maker's name on the left, the date and place of manufacture on the right, the enclosed lock of European manufacture with internal cock, the silver safety catch in the form of a tiger's head, internal frizzen spring, the flash pan lined in gold, the maker's name in gold under the flash pan, the full stock of carved rosewood with a moulded palmette behind the breech, the rail swept through to the butt, the butt-plate of silver with a thickened edge engraved with bubri pattern, a spring-loaded trap cover for the (now missing) bayonet, the tang engraved with huma-birds and vegetal motifs, the pierced side plate of European design with vegetal and aquatic motifs, the trigger-guard with flower motifs, bubri form escutcheon plates, the fore-end with silver tip, two ramrod pipes and a tail pipe
the barrel 97.8 cm. long; the whole 137 cm. long
the barrel 97.8 cm. long; the whole 137 cm. long
Footnotes
Provenance:
Robin Wiggington collection, the Arms and Armour Museum, Stratford-upon-Avon;
Private collection, acquired Sotheby's, The Tipu Sultan Sale, 25th May 2005, lot 57.
Exhibited:
The Indian Heritage. Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 21st April-22nd August 1982, no. 465.
Published:
Skelton, Robert, et al., The Indian Heritage, Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, London, 1982, p. 139, no. 465;
Wigington, Robin, The Firearms of Tipu Sultan 1783-1799, Hatfield, 1992, TR8, pp. 58-61.
Inscriptions:
On the barrel, Cho Timur Shah ghazi-ye din panah/ Konad ashna be kaf-e khod tofang/ Neshan midahad az kalim o 'asa/ bikuffir-e fir'awn vash vaqt-e jang, 'Like Timur Shah, warrior of religion, refuge of the world/ He befriends the gun with his palm/And, as Moses with his staff, gives it the target/ Of Pharaoh-like unbelievers in time of war';
This is the only known appearance on a gun of this quatrain, which refers to Timur Shah Durrani (1748-1793), the second ruler of the Durrani Empire in modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Tipu's kinsman by marriage. It is possible, given the date of manufacture, that the quatrain here is a commemoration of Timur Shah following his death (Wigington 1992, p. 16).
This gun features a number of parts of European, rather than Mysorean, design or manufacture. The trigger-guard is of French design, and the side-plate and escutcheon are in the European fashion. The lock itself appears to be of European manufacture, with adaptations made later by Tipu's armourers. The use of this type of lock suggests Tipu's familiarity with the latest trends in gun design, having been first introduced by Henry Nock in 1786.