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Secondary sourcePainting1793

Lord Cornwallis receiving the Hostage Princes

Mather Brown · 1793

A painting showing Cornwallis receiving two sons of Tipu Sultan as hostages after the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792.

The painting depicts Cornwallis receiving the sons of Tipu Sultan as hostages, reflecting his role as a colonial commander in India.

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Two-part painting. Left panel: a turbaned Indian ruler in a gold robe holds a document, while two young boys in white robes are led forward by a woman in white with a blue sash, surrounded by soldiers and onlookers. Right panel: British officers in red coats and blue facings, with powdered wigs and sashes, stand in a dark interior, one holding a hat near his chest.
Mather Brown, Lord Cornwallis receiving the Hostage Princes, 1793. Durbar Hall.

About this source

What it is

This two-part oil painting on metal shows British General Charles Cornwallis receiving two sons of Tipu Sultan as hostages at the end of the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792. It is held at the Durbar Hall.

Why it matters

The scene presents Cornwallis as a dignified, magnanimous victor at the close of a major colonial war in India, where he served as Governor-General. Such imagery was used to present British rule and conquest in a favourable light, showing Tipu Sultan handing over his sons alongside British officers receiving them with formal ceremony.

Look closer

  • Why might the artist have shown the handover of children as a calm, formal ceremony rather than a painful separation?
  • What does the contrast between the Indian and British figures' dress and setting tell you about how each side is being portrayed?
  • Whose point of view does this painting represent, and what might it leave out?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charles Cornwallis on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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