The history of India’s resistance against colonial rule is often told through battles and treaties, but occasionally, a single artifact captures the complexity of a lost era. One such object is the gold ring belonging to Tipu Sultan, the "Tiger of Mysore." Recovered from his fallen body after the fall of Srirangapatna in 1799, the ring remained in the private collection of British aristocratic families for over two centuries before surfacing in a high-profile London auction.
The Mystery of the Inscription
The ring is a heavy, oval-shaped piece of jewelry weighing approximately 41.2 grams. Its most striking feature is the name of the Hindu deity "Rama" raised in Devanagari script. For a devout Muslim ruler often portrayed by British historians as a religious bigot, the presence of this ring on his finger at the moment of death challenges oversimplified narratives. Scholars suggest the ring may have been worn as a talisman or as a gesture of political and spiritual inclusivity toward his Hindu subjects, reflecting the syncretic nature of Deccani royalty.
Above image: Tipu Sultan of Mysore, possessed a gold ring with inscription in devnari“Ram” that was auctioned in 2014 for over 1.4 lakh pounds, bought by an unnamed bidder. This ring was apparently recovered from his body after he was slain during the fourth Anglo-Mysore war on May 4, 1799 near Srirangapatna Fort. by the British army head Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) .Later he was he gifted the ring to his niece Emily Wellesley who married into the Raglan family. The ring was auctioned from the Raglan collection.............
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| place of Tipu's death Srirangapatna. en.wikipedia.org |
From the Battlefield to the British Peerage
Following the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War on May 4, 1799, the British commander Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) discovered Tipu’s body amidst the ruins of the Srirangapatna Fort. Wellesley reportedly removed the ring from the slain Sultan's finger as a personal trophy of his victory over Britain’s most formidable Indian adversary.
Above image: Lord Wellesley (20 June 1760 - 26 September 1842), an Angelo-Irish politician and colonial administrator, was the fifth Governor-General of India (1798-1805) and made a name for himself during his stint in India In 1799, he invaded the fort of Srirangapatna of the Mysore kingdom south India with his troop and after a long and tough sea-saw battle (4th and last Angelo-Mysore war - 1798-1799). Eventually, Tipu Sultan was killed by a soldier.............
Wellesley eventually gifted the ring to his niece, Emily Wellesley, upon her marriage to FitzRoy Somerset, the first Baron Raglan. For generations, the ring remained part of the Raglan Collection, a symbol of the spoils of war held by descendants of the East India Company’s officials.
In May 2014, the ring gained global attention when it was put up for auction by Christie's in London. Despite protests from various Indian heritage groups who argued that the ring should be repatriated as a national treasure, the sale proceeded. Although initially estimated to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000, the intense historical allure of the item saw the price skyrocket.
The ring was eventually sold for £140,500—nearly ten times its estimate—to an undisclosed private bidder. While the identity of the buyer remains a mystery, the sale highlighted a recurring theme: the auctioning of looted Indian artifacts to alleviate the financial burdens of British aristocratic descendants. Today, while the ring remains in a private European collection, it continues to serve as a poignant reminder of Tipu Sultan’s defiant spirit and the enduring legacy of India’s colonial past.
K. N. Jayaraman
