Tipu Sultan--Sydenham, Benjamin and Marriott, Thomas.

Eight memoranda concerning treasures looted from Seringapatam following the death of Tipu Sultan, comprising: an eyewitness description of Tipu Sultan's throne with an ink and wash sketch showing a frontal view (82 x 95mm), signed by Thomas Marriott, one page, folio, together with a second leaf with a second ink and wash sketch showing a bird's-eye view of the throne (157 x 235mm), green ribbon ties, loosely inserted in the volume, an apparently unpublished and unrecorded description of the greatest treasure of the court of Mysore; "Note of the Articles sent, in charge of Major Davies, to the Chairman of the Hon[oura]ble Court of Directors", listing "Tippo's Wardrobe", tiger's head and carpet removed from the throne, the mechanical wooden tiger, three hunting cheetahs and related items "necessary for hunting the Cheta in England", and two war-dresses, with notes and donation instructions, 2 pages; followed by  six memoranda signed by Benjamin Sydenham, Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General, providing more detail of these items, namely: "Memorandum relative to Tippoo Sultaun's Wardrobe", an account of Tipu Sultan's wardrobe and listing of the content of four trunks sent to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, 5 pages; "Memorandum respecting the War Dress", for the Prince of Wales, 2 pages; "Memorandum respecting one of Tippoo Sultaun's War dresses", for the Duke of York, 2 pages; "Memorandum respecting the Tygers Head", relating to the golden head removed from Tipu Sultan's throne and presented to George III ("...It is made of wood; and is covered with plates of the purest Gold about 1/10 of an Inch in thickness. The teeth are of rock Chrystal, and the Eyes of the same material..."), 4 pages; "Memorandum relative to the Wooden Tyger &ca. found in Seringapatam", ("...This piece of Mechanism represents a Royal Tyger in the act of devouring a prostrate European..."), the earliest recorded description of "Tipu's Tiger", 2 pages; "Memorandum respecting the Hunting Establishment of Tippoo Sultaun at Seringapatam, with an account of the Chetas sent to His Majesty", including an ink and wash sketch of the hunting grounds (105 x 105mm), giving a detailed account of how cheetahs were used for hunting, and a description of the cheetah by I. Fleming of the Bengal Medical Establishment, 11 pages; each item separately docketed, recording passage from India (the first on the Cornwallis, 18 January 1800, the other seven on the Earl Howe, 30 August 1800), all but the first numbered (1-7) in red, each with later docketing noting that it was removed "from Exam[iner's] Office 5 Oct[obe]r 1814"; bound together in blue paper wrappers, with endpapers on paper watermarked 1821, nicks and tears to first item with text loss, some dust staining, covers worn with loss at corners and spine

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

An exceptional record of the spoils seized by the British East India Company following the final defeat of Tipu Sultan at Seringapatam on 4 May 1799. Benjamin Sydenham (1777-1828) was present at the fall of Seringapatam (his letter describing the siege to Earl Macartney was sold in 2010 for £72,000) and soon afterwards was appointed aide-de-camp to the Governor General, Richard, Marquess Wellesley. It was in this capacity that he produced these detailed memoranda about treasures from the palace that were sent back to London. They were sent in duplicate: these copies accompanied the treasures themselves went by ship but another set (now among the East India Company papers in the British Library) was sent overland.

The first item in the group is of particular interest: Thomas Marriott preceded Sydenham as ADC to Wellesley and provided one of the few eyewitness accounts and pictorial representations of Tipu's throne before it was broken up on the orders of the Prize Committee. Another similar sketch by Marriott of the throne from the front is known, but the second sketch is the only known record of the throne viewed from above. It shows two additional smaller tiger-head finials at the rear of the throne not visible in any other depiction of the throne and in all likelihood explaining the origin of the finial from the Wigington collection (sold in these rooms, 25 May 2005, lot 7).

Sydenham gives in many cases the earliest known description of some of the greatest treasures of the Mysore Court, including "Tipu's Tiger" (now at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London), and the golden tiger's head finial that is now in the Royal Collection (along with the elaborate war dresses). His vivid account of hunting with cheetahs gives a remarkable insight into Tipu Sultan's court:

"...Each Cheta was carried on a light Cart drawn by two Bullocks regularly trained for the purpose. The Huntsman of each Cheta was seated on his respective Cart, and the other attendants ran close to it on foot ... On discovering a herd of deer, they ... endeavoured to take up such a position as should oblige the Antelope when chased to run up hill, or over broken ground ... When they arrived within 4 or 500 Yards of the Game, the men on foot turned the Cheta's head towards the Antelope, uncovered the Cheta's Eyes, and then let him loose..."