Sayid Iqbal, Seringapatam
Flintlock blunderbuss c.1793-4
Hardwood, steel, blued steel inlaid with gold, brass | 11.0 x 4.5 cm; 93.0 cm (Length) (length) | RCIN 67239
Grand Vestibule, Windsor Castle
-
Flintlock blunderbuss with a hardwood stock with gilt-brass mounts; a round blued steel barrel inlaid with gold decoration and a muzzle cast in the form of a tiger's head. Steel lock. Inscribed. Steel ramrod.
Tipu, Sultan of Mysore (1750-1799), used as his emblem the tiger, whose slanted stripes were everywhere to be seen at Seringapatam, on the walls of the palace, on the uniforms of his soldiers and on his weapons. The muzzles of his cannon were formed as tiger’s heads, but this blunderbuss, which is signed by the general munition-maker Sayid Iqbal, is the only known firearm of this type with this feature.
Catalogue entry adapted from George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004Provenance
Presented to King George III by Marquess Wellesley, 2 April 1800 (CHAC, no.570). Said to have been 'taken from the Bed Chamber of the late Tipoo Saib [Tipu, Sultan of Mysore] after the capture of Seringapatam... the favourite piece of that Sultan. The Tiger... denotes the certainty of it having belonged to Royalty as none but Princes are allowed to introduce it' (North Corridor Inventory of Windsor Castle, no. 446). -
Creator(s)
(gunsmith)(nationality)Acquirer(s)
-
Medium and techniques
Hardwood, steel, blued steel inlaid with gold, brass
Measurements
11.0 x 4.5 cm; 93.0 cm (Length) (length)
Category
Place of Production
Srirangapatna [Mandya]
