The Elephants of Mysore

166, Lot: 219. Estimate $100. Sold for $60. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Independent States. Mysore. Haidar Ali. 1761-1782. Æ Paisa (20mm, 11.85 g). Balhari mint. Dated AH 1197 (AD 1782). Elephant advancing right / Mint and date formula. Henderson 11; cf. KM 2 (inexact description). Fine, dark brown patina.

Haidar Ali Khan was of a family Muslim adventurers who, along with his brother, took service with the kingdom of Mysore in the 1740’s. The brothers introduced European technology to the native forces, fielding the first artillery corps for an Indian army. By 1762 the nominal ruler of Mysore, Krishnaraja II Wodeyar was a mere figurehead, with Haidar and his son Tipu in total control of the kingdom, and set on a career of expansion. Haidar defeated Mysore’s ancient enemies the Marathas and captured Kalikut, but his expansionist plans eventually concerned the British, and his final campaign to capture Madras from them ended in failure. Haidar and his son son would eventually engage the British in four separate wars, in the fiercest challenge to British rule on the sub-continent.