Tipu's Tiger
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Tipu's Tiger (a.k.a. Tippoo's Tiger) is an automaton, representing a tiger savaging a European soldier, or employee of the British East India Company. It is currently on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Tipu's Tiger was originally made for Tipu Sultan in Mysore, ca. 1795. (Tipu Sultan used the tiger systematically as his emblem, employing tiger motifs on his weapons, on the uniforms of his soldiers, and on the decoration of his palaces.) The operation of a crank handle powers several different mechanisms inside Tipu's Tiger. A set of bellows expels air through a pipe inside the man's throat. This produces a wailing sound, simulating the cries of distress of the victim. A mechanical link causes the man's left arm to rise and fall. This action alters the pitch of the 'wail pipe'. Another mechanism inside the tiger's head expels air through two pipes. This produces a sound simulating the roar of the tiger. Concealed behind a flap in the tiger's flank is a small ivory keyboard; depressing these keys expels air through a series of organ pipes.
Analysis of the metal content of the brass pipes of the organ indicates that it was of local manufacture. The presence of French artisans and French army engineers within Tipu's court has led many historians to suggest there was French input into the mechanism of this automaton. (e.g. Tippoo's Tiger by Mildred Archer, Victoria & Albert Museum, 1959)
The design may have been inspired by the death of Hugh Munro, son of General Sir Hector Munro, who had defeated Tipu in battle during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. Hugh Munro was attacked and killed by a tiger on the 22nd of December, 1792 on Saugor Island.
Tipu's Tiger was captured from the Sultan after the British stormed Tipu's capital, Srirangapatnam, and killed Tipu on the 4th of May, 1799, at the culmination of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. An Aide de Camp to the Governor General of the East India Company, Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, wrote a memorandum describing the discovery of the object: “In a room appropriated for musical instruments was found an article which merits particular notice, as another proof of the deep hate, and extreme loathing of Tippoo Saib towards the English. This piece of mechanism represents a royal Tyger in the act of devouring a prostrate European. There are some barrels in imitation of an Organ, within the body of the Tyger. The sounds produced by the Organ are intended to resemble the cries of a person in distress intermixed with the roar of a Tyger. The machinery is so contrived that while the Organ is playing, the hand of the European is often lifted up, to express his helpless and deplorable condition. The whole of this design was executed by Order of Tippoo Sultaun. It is imagined that this memorial of the arrogance and barbarous cruelty of Tippoo Sultan may be thought deserving of a place in the Tower of London.”
The Governors of the East India Company decided not to present the Tiger to the Crown, but to keep it for the Company. It was initially displayed in the East India Company Museum in Leadenhall Street, London in 1808. The poet John Keats saw it there and wove it into his satirical verse, “The Cap and Bells”. In the poem, a Soothsayer visits the court of the Emperor Elfinan. He hears a strange noise and thinks the Emperor is snoring.
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- Replied the page: “that little buzzing noise….
- Comes from a play-thing of the Emperor’s choice,
- From a Man-Tiger-Organ, prettiest of his toys''
Today it is exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Visitors can no longer operate the mechanism since the device is now kept in a glass case.
