Repatriation of Tipu’s Tiger

This drawing depicts a near life-size musical sculpture made in the 1790s for Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore and fierce opponent of British expansion in India. As the crank turns, a Bengal tiger—Tipu’s emblem—mauls a British East India Company soldier while the concealed organ emits wailing cries. After Tipu Sultan’s death in the final Anglo-Mysore War, the work was taken to London. Made to play "Rule, Britannia" at East India House, the symbol of resistance was recast as a trophy of empire. In recent years, calls for the sculpture’s return to Mysore have grown. Here, Qizilbash imagines that journey. In an accompanying statement, the artist wonders: "Will it be preserved as immaculately as in a Western museum? And must all historical objects be preserved at all costs?"