Tipu's ring auctioned? It is India's heritage, wealth. British Govt. should return it to India. British Museum should return two Sarasavati idols stolen from Dhar.
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LONDON, May 13, 2014Updated: May 13, 2014 00:29 IST
Tipu’s ring to be auctioned
PARVATHI MENON
It is through the private commerce of the auction house that many a precious relic of India’s history has come to light.
On May 22, a remarkable artifact that illuminates a watershed moment in India’s history will be auctioned by the leading London auction house Christie’s — and presumably thereafter vanish forever from the public eye.
A heavy gold ring worn by 18th century ruler Tipu Sultan during his last campaign against the British in 1799 will be sold as part of the ‘Raglan Collection: Wellington, Waterloo & The Crimea.’
Unusually, the 41.2 gm oval ring has the name of the Hindu God Rama in raised Devanagari inscribed on it.
It was taken off the finger of the dead ruler by the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, as his personal spoil of war after the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799.
The ring then found its way into the hands of another military family, that of FitzRoy Somerset, the 1st Baron Raglan. A famous soldier of the early 19th century, he joined Duke Wellington’s service in 1808 and rose to become his right-hand man for the next 40 years. He fought in major campaigns under Duke Wellington, including Waterloo and in the Crimea.
FitzRoy Somerset married the Duke’s favourite niece Emily Wellesley-Pole who was in possession of the ring, a gift from her uncle.
The ring has been valued at £10,000 to £15,000 and is part of the private collection of Fitzroy John Somerset, the great great grandson of the 1st Baron Raglan. The collection contains items that have been the possession of the family from 1858, including historical medals, arms and armour, militaria, pictures, furniture, silver, books, Indian weapons and works of art, as well as a selection of art.
Though a small object of personal use, the ring with its inscription awakens the spirit of the unusual 18th ruler who was its owner.
The historical record shows Tipu as Catholic in his religious outlook and forward-looking in his world-view. He sought out what was modern and transformatory for the time, putting it to use in his paramount objective of defeating the British
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Gold relic no 'spoil of war'
Last updated 13:02 15/11/2013
TRADED: Holocaust survivor's heirs believe their ancestor traded two packs of cigarettes to get this artifact from a Russian soldier.
New York's highest court has concluded that an ancient gold tablet must be returned to the German museum that lost it in World War II, rejecting any claims to the ''spoils of war''.
The Court of Appeals unanimously agreed that Riven Flamenbaum's estate was not entitled to the 3000-year-old Assyrian relic, a 9.5-gram tablet nearly the size of a credit card.
''We decline to adopt any doctrine that would establish good title based upon the looting and removal of cultural objects during wartime by a conquering military force,'' the court said in a memorandum.
''The 'spoils of war' theory proffered by the estate - that the Russian government, when it invaded Germany, gained title to the museum's property as a spoil of war, and then transferred that title to the decedent - is rejected.''
The tablet, inscribed with an exhortation to honour King Tukulti-Ninurta I, was excavated a century ago by German archaeologists from the Ishtar Temple in what's now northern Iraq. It went on display in 1934 and disappeared after the start of the war.
Flamenbaum, an Auschwitz survivor, brought the tablet to the United States when he settled in New York. Family lore says he got it by trading cigarettes to a Russian soldier.
The New York court also rejected the argument the Vorderasiatisches Museum, part of the renowned Pergamon Museum, waited too long - more than 60 years - before trying to reclaim it.
''New York has really affirmed its moral leadership in protecting true property owners,'' said museum attorney Raymond Dowd.
The ruling should ensure the safe return of the tablet, Dowd said. The museum has many other pieces still missing since the war, he said.
Attorney Steven Schlesinger said the family was disappointed and questioned whether the court refused to uphold ''title by right of conquest'' because it would open the door for those who obtained art looted by Germans during the Holocaust.
''You can't argue that the United States doesn't recognise the right of conquest when this entire country is the result of the law of conquest,'' he said.
The Court of Appeals said there was no proof that Russia ever possessed the tablet, and that it was the official US policy during World War II to forbid pillaging of cultural artifacts.
According to court documents, the tablet dates to 1243 to 1207BC, during Tukulti-Ninurta's reign.
Placed in the foundation of the temple of the fertility goddess, its 21 lines call on those who find the temple to honor the king's name.
In 1945, the Berlin museum's premises was overrun, with many items taken by Russians, others by German troops and some pilfered by people who took shelter in the museum.
The museum director was not in a position to say who took it, only that it disappeared.
It has been in a deposit box in New York.
- AP
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/9404811/Gold-relic-no-spoil-of-war