Seringapatam to Wiltshire…
This is a rundown of how a rusty sword went from being a £100 return for the sellers, to potentially a few hundred thousand pounds in a matter of months.
An image of the sword when sold in June 2024
In June 2024 the auction house Gardiner Houlgate offered for sale a rusty sword from the collection of a family in Wiltshire. Taken literally, in the words of the Antiques Trade Gazette, from a box at the back of a cupboard.
According to a well-known expert in South Asian arms and armour, see recent footnotes… the sword was “immediately recognisable as being connected to ‘the Tiger of Mysore’ Tipu Sultan because of the very distinguishable tiger stripe (bubri) pattern. The quality, age and elaborate use of the bubri all pointed to it being a personal sword of the king.”
The bubri pattern can be seen on this figure’s fetching jacket, painted by British artist Robert Home, in Chennai circa 1793.
Painted as a study for Home’s 'The Reception of the Mysorean Hostage Princes by Marquis Cornwallis, 26 February 1792' it was exhibited in Grosvenor Gallery’s 2017 exhibition ‘Tipu, the Daniells and Co.’ The catalogue for that show had a wonderful introduction by William Dalrymple.
The provenance given was scant, almost non-existent. It was given to the saleroom with no knowledge of what it was, lumped in with other bits and pieces, ceramics, etc. etc. Despite this, the sword sold for £133,000. Not too shabby – although according to our expert; “the price seems to be a real steal - great news for the buyer.”
It was then reported that it had been sold to an international buyer and would form “part of a curated fine art collection overseas.” Within months, the buyer had entered it into the November auction of Islamic and Indian Art at Bonhams. Bonhams have great form with Tipu Sultan related works of art, having set a world record in 2023 when they sold the ‘Bedchamber sword belonging to Tipu Sultan’ for £14,000,000, which set a world record for any Islamic work of art at auction. This in itself was an astronomical return for the buyer, who paid £180,000 for it at auction in 2003.
The same sword following a little tlc…
Bonhams have conducted fantastic research into the family’s history and association with India and their connections to Tipu Sultan. The full account is given on the Bonhams website, and is well worth a read. This part is the most relevant to the sword:
“Captain James Andrew Dick (1772-1852) served as a Lieutenant at Seringapatam in the 75th Highland Regiment of Foot. The regiment formed part of the storming party at the battle, their objective to breach the walls by use of ladders. Lieutenant Dick is therefore likely to have been amongst the first of the British forces to enter the city, and it was his regiment that assisted with the search for Tipu's body after the battle.”
It is a remarkable story in so many ways and will no doubt have a happy ending for the new owner.
