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Lot Essay
Mutamad al-Dawlah Mushīr al-Mulk Mahārāj Adhirāj Nar Indar [=Narindar] Mahārājah Tikayt Rāy Bahādur Salābat Jang 1208
The inscriptions on this seal marks the promotion of Maharaja Tikayt Ray (1760-1808), a prominent Mughal statesman in the nominally independent province of Awadh, to Minister of Finance (Divan) under Nawab-Vazir Asaf ud-Dawlah (d.1797). Initially, Ray began his career under the governorship of Nawab-Vazir Safdar Jang (d.1754), whose Delhi tomb is considered by many as one of the last great expressions of Mughal architecture and notable for its extensive Rococo interior plasterwork. Ray gradually moved his way to more senior position within the Oudh state treasury, serving under a number of Vazirs. Due to Avadh’s position, Tikayt Ray made frequent trips – both official and personal – to Calcutta and would have been familiar with leading officials of the British East India Company.
Certainly, given his position and connections, Ray was seemingly not satisfied limiting his interests to matters of the state treasury and he played an ever more active role in politics – both in Avadh and British Calcutta. Ray was heavily involved in the intrigues to remove the EIC Resident at Lucknow as well as permitting an unauthorised sale of state jewels, totalling some ten million rupees, to Calcutta with both acts very much against the wishes of Asaf ud-Dawlah. He was later also involved in the installation of Sir John Shore (d.1834) as Governor-General in Calcutta in October 1793.
In spite of his actions – and likely in part due to his powerful British connections – Maharaja Tikayt Ray returned to Lucknow in late 1793 whereupon he was appointed Divan of Awadh. Whilst in office, he oversaw vast spending on an ambitious public works project by Asaf ud-Dawlah in the midst of a severe and prolonged famine. It was also during this time that the Divan was implicated in the embezzlement of more than seven and a half million rupees, a beneficiary including a younger sibling accused of erecting vast mansions with ‘bricks of gold’. This scandal resulted in a rigourous enquiry after which Tikayt Ray was dismissed in 1796 and later retired to Calcutta.
Notwithstanding his various scandals, the former Minister is remembered for his work with Asaf ud-Dawlah to provide relief during the famine and the establishment of the Rifah-e Aam charitable foundation. He was also a keen patron of architectural projects, notably the village of Tikaitganj, replete with a bridge, Shiva temple and mosque, on the outskirts of Lucknow.
The inscriptions on this seal marks the promotion of Maharaja Tikayt Ray (1760-1808), a prominent Mughal statesman in the nominally independent province of Awadh, to Minister of Finance (Divan) under Nawab-Vazir Asaf ud-Dawlah (d.1797). Initially, Ray began his career under the governorship of Nawab-Vazir Safdar Jang (d.1754), whose Delhi tomb is considered by many as one of the last great expressions of Mughal architecture and notable for its extensive Rococo interior plasterwork. Ray gradually moved his way to more senior position within the Oudh state treasury, serving under a number of Vazirs. Due to Avadh’s position, Tikayt Ray made frequent trips – both official and personal – to Calcutta and would have been familiar with leading officials of the British East India Company.
Certainly, given his position and connections, Ray was seemingly not satisfied limiting his interests to matters of the state treasury and he played an ever more active role in politics – both in Avadh and British Calcutta. Ray was heavily involved in the intrigues to remove the EIC Resident at Lucknow as well as permitting an unauthorised sale of state jewels, totalling some ten million rupees, to Calcutta with both acts very much against the wishes of Asaf ud-Dawlah. He was later also involved in the installation of Sir John Shore (d.1834) as Governor-General in Calcutta in October 1793.
In spite of his actions – and likely in part due to his powerful British connections – Maharaja Tikayt Ray returned to Lucknow in late 1793 whereupon he was appointed Divan of Awadh. Whilst in office, he oversaw vast spending on an ambitious public works project by Asaf ud-Dawlah in the midst of a severe and prolonged famine. It was also during this time that the Divan was implicated in the embezzlement of more than seven and a half million rupees, a beneficiary including a younger sibling accused of erecting vast mansions with ‘bricks of gold’. This scandal resulted in a rigourous enquiry after which Tikayt Ray was dismissed in 1796 and later retired to Calcutta.
Notwithstanding his various scandals, the former Minister is remembered for his work with Asaf ud-Dawlah to provide relief during the famine and the establishment of the Rifah-e Aam charitable foundation. He was also a keen patron of architectural projects, notably the village of Tikaitganj, replete with a bridge, Shiva temple and mosque, on the outskirts of Lucknow.