AFTER HENRI SINGLETON AND ROBERT KERR PORTER

Henry Singleton's four views depict the last throes of Tipu Sahib, Sultan of Mysore (1753-1799). Following the four Mysore wars between 1767 and 1799, a keen demand arose in England for prints of the legendary figure of Tipu Sahib and his army of south Indian troops. Singleton's oil paintings illustrate each dramatic event leading up to the defeat of Tipu Sahib in 1799 (see previous lot). Tipu, shut up in his fortress at Seringapatam, an island fort in the river Kaveri just north of Mysore, held a last stand against the British, led by Colonel Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington. The battle made Wellesley's military career, and he remained in India as Governor of Seringatapam for five years. Tipu was killed during fierce fighting, and according to Wellesley's biographer, Elizabeth Longford, was 'shot dead by a British soldier who fancied the jewel in his turban' (seen here in the second plate). The present prints are by Schiavonetti (1765-1810), the highly successful pupil of Bartolozzi, and Anthony Cardon (1772-1813). Two other sets of Singleton's views sold at Christie's, London, 17 June 1998, lot 80 and 24 September 2003, lot 89.