The Death of Munrow

This resource from the Victoria and Albert Museum shows a popular ceramic sculpture depicting Lieutenant Hugh Monro, a young British army officer who while serving in India was mauled by a tiger on a hunting trip in 1792. His death reportedly inspired the Tipu’s Tiger, an automaton created for Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore until his death in 1799 during the fall of Seringapatam. Along with court treasures and Tipu's renouned library, the automaton was seized and shipped to London for exhibition. The popularity of “The Death of Munrow” mantle figurine can be traced to the facination of British viewers with Tipu’s Tiger, which it strongly resembles, indicating the degree to which events in Mysore, along with Tipu’s automaton, became household knowledge to readers of Maria Edgeworth's “Lame Jervas.”