Saddle cloth — late 18th century

This elaborately decorated saddle-cloth is believed to have belonged to Tipu Sultan of Mysore, who was killed by British forces at the battle of Seringapatam in 1799. This sort of heavy embroidery in gold-wrapped silk thread (known as 'zardozi') on a velvet ground was popular for palace furnishings and animal-trappings throughout much of India during the late 18th and 19th centuries.