Tipu’s Tiger

Resource added
Images and museum resource on “Tipu’s Tiger,” created in the 1780s or 1790s in Mysore, India for Tipu Sultan. Held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, museum no 2545 (IS).

Full description

When users crank this organ automaton, the tiger growls and the soldier raises his hand in distress. Tipu’s Tiger was created for Tipu Sultan ruler of Mysore, before it was seized after the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799 and displayed in the Tower of London. Description of the curious mechanical tiger, which immediately fascinated British viewers, were widely reported in papers during the same months when Maria Edgeworth wrote “Lame Jervas.” Although her story does not mention Tipu’s Tiger, her plot of a Cornishman who brings his automaton to India for a performance in Tipu’s court reverses these events by portraying Tipu as the disinterested audience of a European mechanical exhibit.

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  • type
    Link
  • created on
  • container title
    Tipu’s Tiger, 1780s or 1790s, Mysore, India. Museum no 2545 (IS). Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
  • credit
    Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
  • rights
    Images © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.