memorandum by M.Regnier, Director of the Royal Porcelain
Factory at S�vres, recorded the presentation of Louis XVI's
gifts to Tipu's ambassadors on 12th September 1788. This
elaborate diplomatic gesture included a collection of over
250 pieces of Sevres porcelain, specially prepared at the
Royal Factory, with sixteen vases, seven toilet basins,
six flat 'English bowls', thirty-six coffee cups, ninety-six
plates, huqqas and spittoons for Tipu and six busts of the
King and Queen. The ambassadors declared that 'these would
remind them every moment of their lives of their gracious
and unforgettable welcome'. . The initials of the Factory's
Artistic Director, ' LR' i.e. Joseph Le Riche, are incised
on the base of the figure of Louis XVI, together with the
number '15' which identifies the modeller.
Friendship of Tipu and of his father, Haidar
Ali, had secured for the French most of the advantages
which they enjoyed in India at this period. Tipu, through
his ambassadors, had asked Louis
XVI for 6,000 French troops, to be dispatched to Mysore.
A contemporary Memoir records that 'The Prince engages to
furnish the whole French Army with the necessary provisions,
such as Rice, Meat, Ghee &c. Spirituous liquors he cannot
supply: he will provide the French Army with carriage for
the Officers and for their Baggage. He will also provide
all Military stores.' No French military aid was forthcoming,
and ten years later, after a brief experiment with French
republicanism, Tipu resumed his quest for French military
aid in correspondence with Napoleon Buonaparte. It was a
correspondence which was to have fatal
consequences. | 
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