Grand Vestibule: The British Monarchy and the World
The Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle reflects interaction between the monarchy and the wider world
SAYID IQBAL, SERINGAPATAM
Flintlock blunderbuss
c.1793-4RCIN 67239
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, 2004
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, 2004
