A spectacular sword presented to a Scot for his role in battle has fetched over £317,000 at auction.
The gold-inlaid steel tulwar was owned by Tipu Sultan, known as the “Tiger of Mysore”, who was overthrown by the British army at the Assault of Seringapatam in 1799.
The 94.5cm long curved sabre, featuring the distinctive gold tiger stripes closely associated with the famous ruler, was found in Tipu’s personal royal armoury and presented to Scots Captain James Andrew Dick, from Perthshire.
The sword, which remained in Dick’s family for more than 200 years, went under the hammer at Bonhams’ sale of Islamic and Indian Art in London.
It was bought by an online bidder for £317,900 after competition from rival bidders online and by phone.
Oliver White, Bonhams’ head of department for Islamic and Indian Art, said: “Of the many weapons removed from the Sultan’s palace, very few are likely to have belonged to Tipu Sultan himself.”
Tipu Sultan was the last King of Mysore and the East India Company’s most tenacious enemy.
Famed for his ferocity, he inflicted numerous defeats on the British, partly through his pioneering development of military rockets.
He once famously declared: “I would rather live one day as a tiger than a lifetime as a sheep.”
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