| 3 Tipu's cheetah |
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 ©The British Library, London (OIOC) |
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One
of Tipu�s Hunting Cheetah; Seringapatam, 1799 Watercolour 32 x 61 cm. Unknown Indian Artist for the Marquis Wellesley. |
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he Persian inscription reads: 'Drawn
from the Life from a Cheeta that was found in the Palace
of Tippoo Sultan at Seringapatam 1799.' Hunting with cheetahs is
an ancient Indian sport, especially for the nobility. For Tipu,
the elegance, power and decisiveness of these animals was undoubtedly
equated with his own image as 'The Tiger
of Mysore.' In order to accommodate the beast's extended tail, the
artist has attached a second sheet of paper. A companion watercolour,
with the tail curled inwards, is also in the British Library, London
(OIOC) (No.: NHD 32 f.4).
Benjamin Sydenham was appointed in 1799 to prepare a memorandum on Tipu's sixteen hunting cheetahs. Each had in its retinue a chief huntsman with assistant, one cart, four bullocks and four men. Six or eight cheetahs rode in procession to the appointed hunting ground and remained hooded until within four to five hundred yards of their prey (deer or antelope). After the chase, the cheetah held down its prey which was killed by the Meer Shikar (chief huntsman). Three of Tipu's hunting cheetahs, six keepers, two transport bullocks and a cart were sent as a present to George III after the Fall of Seringapatam. They were not the first hunting cheetahs to reach Britain. George Pigot, Governor of Madras (1755-63) sent a cheetah home as a gift to the King, and the beast was exhibited in the Royal Park at Windsor. It flatly refused to perform any great feats, but a splendid portrait of the cheetah, with its two Indian attendants, was painted by George Stubbs, one of the greatest animal painters of the 18 century. Pigot's cheetah wears the characteristic red hood, not shown in the Indian watercolour, and also the red girdle by which the attendant could control the Cheetah. This is clearly visible in the watercolour. |
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