The Body of Tipu Sultan Recognized by his Family

1802 THE DEFEAT OF THE TIGER OF MYSORE Title inscription The body of the Sultaun was not found till late in the evening and then placed in the court of the palace by orders of Major General Baird, the next day it was recognised by his family whose grief on the occasion was extreme his Death depriving them of the only dependence they had in their calamitous situation. The defeat and death of Tipu in the Fourth and final Mysore War paved the way for the establishment of British rule over most parts of India. Commissioned by the East India Company directors this engraving was as much a celebration of this victory as a statement that the company was back in control of it’s exclusive and lucrative trading activities in India. The Governor General Richard Wellesley had been determined to eliminate not only the French influence in India but also to be rid of the Mysorean threat to British ambitions in India once and for all. Within two months of declaring war, the British were at Seringapatam Tipu’s capital. On the 4th May, 1799 the British quickly gained the ramparts within two hours, Tipu’s family then surrendered and soon after Tipu’s body was found. Tipu’s sons viewed their father’s body the next day and requested that it should be interred the same evening. Tipu was accorded a full military funeral. No expense had been spared in the making of this fine stipple engraving which had the colour applied by the laborious process of à la poupée, meaning ‘with the doll’. The phrase derives from the doll-shaped bundle of fabric used to dab the ink of differing colours into the grooves and dots recessed in the surface of the plate. In this method the printer is in effect colouring the picture on the plate for each impression consequently each will be unique. This example has rich velvety tones.