Lot Essay
Hunter, a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, had a short career in India. In 1790-92 he served under Cornwallis in the 3rd Mysore War, but died in 1792. He had done a number of watercolours in the course of the campaign which were taken back to England and published by Edward Orme as Picturesque Scenery in the Kingdom of Mysore, London, 1804-5, from commissioned drawings after his original works. The series was also included as the third section of A Brief History of Ancient and Modern India Embellished with Colonel Blagdon's Engravings, 1802-5.
The British public took an intense interest in Tipu Sultan, 'The Tiger of Mysore'. Stories of the treatment of British prisioners after the humiliating defeats of the 2nd Mysore War of 1780-84 led to hysterical indignation in Britain, and relief was great when Cornwallis fought back in 1790-92. Numerous paintings and engravings were made depicting not only the countryside where the fighting was taking place but also the palaces and monuments connected with Tipu and his father, Haidar Ali, at Bangalore and Seringapatam.
The British public took an intense interest in Tipu Sultan, 'The Tiger of Mysore'. Stories of the treatment of British prisioners after the humiliating defeats of the 2nd Mysore War of 1780-84 led to hysterical indignation in Britain, and relief was great when Cornwallis fought back in 1790-92. Numerous paintings and engravings were made depicting not only the countryside where the fighting was taking place but also the palaces and monuments connected with Tipu and his father, Haidar Ali, at Bangalore and Seringapatam.