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Lot Essay
Insription:
On the barrel, in the form of a lion's head asad allah al-ghalib 'The Victorious lion of god'
Underneath, long inscription, not fully deciphered ...saf-shikan 'breaker of the ranks...'
In the cartouche at the base of the barrel by the lock patan sana 1223 'Patan (Seringapatam), year 1223 (1793-4 AD)'
In the cartouche at the base of the barrel, a heart-shape containing h-y-d-r for Haydar, above '313', the tin terah, a symbol of destruction
In the cartouche at the base of the barrel on the left side a 'Haydar' control mark and the name 'Ghulam Amin'
On the lock a 'Haydar control mark and patan ghulam amin 'Patan (Seringapatam), Ghulam Amin'
On the left of the lock a teardrop device containing h-y-d-r and sana 1223 'year 1223 (1793-4 AD)'
This is a rare and important Indian flintlock musketoon (bukmar) from the armoury of Tipu Sultan. Tipu used guns of this type primarily for his camel corps as he rightly saw it as an effective weapon against large groups of soldiers. Whilst Tipu's Indian contemporaries still relied upon sabres and swords as the main fighting equipment for their troops, Tipu ensured that Mysore by contrast had a large stock of flintlocks as recorded in the Return of Ordinance and Military stores found at Seringapatam after his fall in 1799. That accounts for 99,000 flintlock arms which were locally manufactured in the Royal and Public armouries of Tipu Sultan, which spanned the length and breadth of his dominion (M.M. Masood, "An unlisted flintlock blunderbuss from the armoury of Tipu Sultan and deciphering the theen theerah (313) symbol on the firearms of Tipu Sultan", The Journal of The Arms & Armour Society, vol. XXIII, no. 2, September 2019, p.108). Similar rifles are in the Royal Collection (RCIN 67238, 67240 and 67239). Two bear dates equivalent to 1793-94, as ours. Other examples have sold at Bonham’s London, 21 April 2015, lot 154, 155 and 167. All of those, like ours bear signatures of local craftsmen who were responsible for their manufacture.
On the barrel, in the form of a lion's head asad allah al-ghalib 'The Victorious lion of god'
Underneath, long inscription, not fully deciphered ...saf-shikan 'breaker of the ranks...'
In the cartouche at the base of the barrel by the lock patan sana 1223 'Patan (Seringapatam), year 1223 (1793-4 AD)'
In the cartouche at the base of the barrel, a heart-shape containing h-y-d-r for Haydar, above '313', the tin terah, a symbol of destruction
In the cartouche at the base of the barrel on the left side a 'Haydar' control mark and the name 'Ghulam Amin'
On the lock a 'Haydar control mark and patan ghulam amin 'Patan (Seringapatam), Ghulam Amin'
On the left of the lock a teardrop device containing h-y-d-r and sana 1223 'year 1223 (1793-4 AD)'
This is a rare and important Indian flintlock musketoon (bukmar) from the armoury of Tipu Sultan. Tipu used guns of this type primarily for his camel corps as he rightly saw it as an effective weapon against large groups of soldiers. Whilst Tipu's Indian contemporaries still relied upon sabres and swords as the main fighting equipment for their troops, Tipu ensured that Mysore by contrast had a large stock of flintlocks as recorded in the Return of Ordinance and Military stores found at Seringapatam after his fall in 1799. That accounts for 99,000 flintlock arms which were locally manufactured in the Royal and Public armouries of Tipu Sultan, which spanned the length and breadth of his dominion (M.M. Masood, "An unlisted flintlock blunderbuss from the armoury of Tipu Sultan and deciphering the theen theerah (313) symbol on the firearms of Tipu Sultan", The Journal of The Arms & Armour Society, vol. XXIII, no. 2, September 2019, p.108). Similar rifles are in the Royal Collection (RCIN 67238, 67240 and 67239). Two bear dates equivalent to 1793-94, as ours. Other examples have sold at Bonham’s London, 21 April 2015, lot 154, 155 and 167. All of those, like ours bear signatures of local craftsmen who were responsible for their manufacture.