A British couple is set to become overnight millionaires after they discovered the relics found in their attic are worth millions of dollars.
The artifacts which were wrapped in newspaper were actually an Indian sultan’s treasures.
They were taken from the palace of Tipu Sultan after the Indian ruler was defeated by forces led by Duke of Wellington in 1799.
The stunning artifacts which are heavily decorated with gold carving also include the very same gun the sultan used when he went against the British for the last time.
Just added to the Tipu Sultan Gallery of items in our March Fine Arms & Armour auction: an Indian Shamshir bearing gold Hyder Ali mark, from the Major Thomas Hart allocation from Seringapatam #tipusultan #tigerofmysore #seringapatam #hyderali #haidarali https://t.co/lbBXUKKiOh pic.twitter.com/HQC0WKOPUI
— Antony Cribb Ltd (@AntonyCribbLtd) February 13, 2019
The gun has a tiger stripe pattern that is unique to Tipu Sultan. There is also damage caused by the musket ball that killed the sultan.
The artifacts which include a gun, four swords, a shield, a betel nut box, and gold seal ring were later brought to Britain by Major Thomas Hart after the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war.
A gold encrusted Firangi from the collection of Tipu Sultan. Entered in our March 26th Fine Arms & Armour auction. #tipsultan #tigerofmysore #seringapatam #armsandarmour #auction https://t.co/oK91seNLFX pic.twitter.com/LRlXzwc5bI
— Antony Cribb Ltd (@AntonyCribbLtd) January 15, 2019
The betel nut box still contains betel nuts which are believed to be 220 years old.
Tipu Sultan betel nut box from Seringapatam, containing three nuts. In our March 26th Fine Arms & Armour auction. https://t.co/lbBXUKKiOh #seringapatam #indianarmsandarmour #armsandarmour #betelnut #mysore #tigerofmysore #tipusultan #india #auction #antique pic.twitter.com/yhqMHPECTa
— Antony Cribb Ltd (@AntonyCribbLtd) January 18, 2019
They were later passed down to generation after generation in the family and now they belong to the couple who kept them in their Berkshire home.
According to auctioneer Anthony Cribb, it was hard to put a price tag to the cache but he said that they would be worth more than the Tipu Sultan’s artifacts he auctioned previously.
Collection of Tipu Sultan treasure including gold-encrusted sword offered @AntonyCribbLtd sale:https://t.co/6MNem0ojOh pic.twitter.com/KkEJLtgWxc
— AntiquesTradeGazette (@ATG_Editorial) January 28, 2019
“It is impossible to put a price on these items but I would say this collection is more important than the previous one,” he said.
Hand-drawn map and images relevant to the troops’ disposition during that era.
A RARE CONTEMPORARY MAP OF TROOP POSITIONS AT SERINGAPATAM UNDER EARL CORNWALLIS, being a hand drawn and coloured aerial…
Posted by Antony Cribb Arms & Armour Auctions on Wednesday, March 6, 2019
In 2016, another cache belonged to Tipu Sultan were auctioned for £6 million (approx. US$7,869,984).
When Cribb first saw the artifacts, he was in utter disbelief. “When I first saw the gun I nearly fainted. It is a once-in-a-lifetime find,” Cribb said.
“The owners are an ordinary family who lives in a Victorian semi-detached house.”
“You could describe this find as like a lottery win for them.”
A gold seal ring from Major Thomas Hart's allocation from the defeat of Tipu Sultan at the fall of Seringapatam. Shown here as it is and also in reverse. In our March 26th Fine Arms & Armour #auction https://t.co/lbBXUKKiOh #tipusultan #tigerofmysore #mysore #seringapatam #india pic.twitter.com/d6I5PwDKt5
— Antony Cribb Ltd (@AntonyCribbLtd) January 23, 2019
The collection will be sold at auction at the Milton House Hotel, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, on March 26.
Credit: Mirror
