Vijay Goel
LONDON: A rare 18th century decorated gun made in India for Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, and valued at around GBP 2 million, has been barred from export to allow time for a UK-based institution to acquire it for the public study of a “fraught period” in the India-UK history.
UK Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Stephen Parkinson took the decision to impose the export ban on the ‘Flintlock Sporting Gun’ following advice from the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), newspapers reported on May 30.
The 14-bore gun, dated between 1793 and 1794, was designed for shooting game (birds) and is signed by its maker Asad Khan Muhammed.
This British colonial-era firearm is said to have been presented to General the Earl Cornwallis, who previously fought Tipu Sultan between 1790 and 1792.
