Tipu Sultan’s arms sold in UK

United Kingdom: A spectacular collection of arms and armour once owned by Tipu Sultan, the last King of Mysore, was sold at Bonhams Islamic and Indian art sale on Tuesday for a total of more than £6million.

The 30 items in the auction come from a single collection. Tipu’s personal motif was the tiger, and he adorned both objects of art and instruments of war with images of the animal and with the tiger-stripe design, earning the nickname, ‘Tiger of Mysore’.

The top lot in the sale was a rare gem-set sword with tiger’s head pommel from Tipu Sultan’s royal regalia. The sword estimated at £60,000-80,000, was sold for £2,154,500.