Recalling history through restored paintings of a historic battle that fetched crores at a recent auction
Indian history books have recorded Tipu Sultan’s victorious battles in Southern India in the 18th century, and we now have documentation of those successes in the form of 24 “preparatory” paintings that were sold recently in London.
The paintings depicting the Battle of Pollilur, also known as Battle of Perambakam, that took place on 10th September 1780 near present-day Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, were bought by an anonymous telephone bidder for INR 55,981,934 (£769,250 or US$1,224,184).
Tipu Sultan commanded the Kingdom of Mysore against Col. William Baille of the British East India Company, which history records, surrendered and suffered a high number of casualties. In a subsequent battle, Colonel Arthur Wellesley and the British defeated Tipu Sultan at the Battle of Seringapatam (now Srirangapatam) on 4th May 1799.
The 24 paintings, which were done on rice paper shortly after the battle were originally part of two long scrolls, each 7 ft. by 30 ft. The story goes that following the Pollilur battle, Tipu Sultan commissioned a mural to commemorate his father, Hyder Ali’s victory that was installed in the Daria Daulat Palace, Seringapatam in 1784. It is believed, the preparatory paintings were the work of an Indian artist.
The scrolls with the preparatory paintings were chopped up into 24 paintings which have survived in remarkably good condition. The paintings illustrate Hyder and Tipu, splendidly attired on their elephants, supported by their army and the French mercenaries. The restoration was done using the preparatory paintings for referencing and is attributed to one of the commanding officers who attended the siege in 1799 — Wellesley, later 1st Duke of Wellington, known for his military prowess.
History buffs will be interested in the paintings’ provenance: it was reportedly acquired around 1802 by Captain John William Freese, a member of the Madras Artillery, who played an important role in the siege of Seringapatam in 1799. The same year he was appointed by General Stuart as Commissary of Stores at Seringapatam. By descent the paintings went to 6th Earl of Lanesborough (grandson of Captain Freese) and remained in the family for a further 100 years until they were sold as part of a group lot in the Swithland Hall Estate Sale in 1978.
(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; and India.)
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RAJ S. RANGARAJAN
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