The East India Company at Home, 1757-1857 - UCL History - The attar casket of Tipu Sultan - Case Study

Oct 29, 2026

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A case study traces the attar casket of Tipu Sultan from its Islamic gallery display at the British Museum through family correspondence and collection records. Six small bottles, a ladle, and a Persian inscription form the evidentiary core, while two documents from former owners connect the casket’s transfer across generations in India and England before its 1904 donation. The analysis considers material culture as a vehicle for dynastic legitimacy within Mysore and interrogates how imperial stories are interpreted in a museum setting, including uncertainties in naming and inscription references.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

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The East India Company at Home, 1757-1857 – UCL History

The attar casket of Tipu Sultan

Documentary evidence and provenance

Origins in eighteenth-century India

Object description and materials

The East India Company at Home, 1757-1857 – UCL History The attar casket of Tipu Sultan1 By Sarah Longair and Cam Sharp-Jones Please note that this case study was first published on [blogs.ucl.ac.uk/eicah](blogs.ucl.ac.uk/eicah) in May 2013. For citation advice, visit: [http://blogs.uc.ac.uk/eicah/usingthewebsite](http://blogs.uc.ac.uk/eicah/usingthewebsite). The attar casket, 1904,1006 .1.a-I, British Museum This intricately-decorated filigree casket is currently on display in the Addis Gallery of Islamic Art, located by the north entrance of the British Museum. Inside are six small bottles, a ladle anda funnel which bears a minute Persian inscription on the rim. Two documents written by onetime owners of the casket – one an undated letter; the other an incomplete note – give tantalising and fragmentary references to the casket’s provenance from the palace of Tipu Sultan (c.1750- 1799) in Seringapatam (present-day Sriringapatna) .2 1 The authors would like to thank Margot Finn, Kate Smith, Helen Clifford, Richard Blurton, Ladan Akbarnia, Sarah Choy, Vesta Curtis and Paramdip Khera for their advice and assistance in researching this case study. 2[http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=24](http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=24)[ ](http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=24)[9650&partid=1&searchText=1904%2c1006.1.a&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&orig=%2fresearch](9650&partid=1&searchText=1904%2c1006.1.a&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&orig=%2fresearch) The East India Company at Home, 1757-1857 – UCL History ---------- Document 1: At the taking of Seringapatam in 1799 my Uncle Mr Fraser was present and afterwards appointed Prize Agent to the treasures, jewels, etc there found. This silver coffer was in Tipoo's own room and with a silken carpet and coral chaplet was sent by HF to his mother at Mt Capper and were by her given to her youngest daughter Charlotte Catherine, From whom the boxe was given to her son J M Heath who wished his youngest cousin H Fraser to have it as a family relic. His surviving sister Isabella A Heath now transfers it to HF as d... August 11th 1846 ------------- Document 2: Woodfield Cottage, Wells Road, Bath, Oct 18 Dear Henry I believe you are the discoverer of Hyder's name on the casket, & of course to an outsider who did not know its history it increases its value as a genuine historic relic. There was an article in a recent no. of'The World' on Mr Lowe, there they spoke of two of the few relics of Tipoo's time preserved at his house, got by someone who had them at the seige of Seringapatam, one was a small drinking horn or flask of Rhinocerous horn found in his private apartments and both highly valued by their possessors. With love ever your affect. cousin Isabella A Heath ------------- These various pieces of material and documentary evidence allow us to track how the casket changed hands several times before its donation by Col. Henry Fraser to the Museum in 1904. Many aspects of this object and its history piqued our interest: the enduring significance of Tipu Sultan, the particular attention paid by family members to transfer the casket between generations both in India and England as well as how material culture represented the legacy of East India Company family histories. This last aspect particularly reflects other family case studies in the East India Company at Home project. The Persian inscription believed by the Frasers to refer to Hyder ‘Ali3, Tipu Sultan’s father (c.1722-1782) brought our attention to how this object might represent collections and connoisseurship as a means of establishing dynastic legitimacy not only by East India Company families, but also within the court of Mysore.4 Furthermore its placement in the Islamic gallery alongsid

FAQs

What key evidence is used to trace the casket’s provenance before the 1904 museum donation?

Two documents from earlier owners—an undated letter and an incomplete note—provide fragmentary references to the casket’s movement from Tipu Sultan’s palace, and they are complemented by collection information tied to the British Museum number.

What does the casket contain and what inscription-related question does it raise?

Inside are six small bottles plus a ladle and funnel, alongside a Persian inscription on the rim. The inscription is believed to refer to Hyder ‘Ali, prompting questions about how the object relates to dynastic legitimacy and naming traditions.

How is the casket’s material design described in the study?

The casket is presented as finely made openwork silver and silver gilt filigree, featuring scrolling foliage in arched panels, a central six-petal flower on the lid, and a matching mirrored design on the base, with an inner panel holding six bottles and accompanying utensils.

Oct 29, 2026

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