An incredible gold tiger's head taken from India by Clive is to become the centrepiece of a redesigned exhibition at Powis Castle exploring Britain's colonial history.
The castle is to receive backing worth more than £60,000 to redesign the exhibition centred on the Tipū Sultān’s tiger head finial.
It's part of a new £1.8 million fund announced by the Welsh Government today (Friday, May 23) aimed at improving and increasing access to cultural facilities and libraries across the country.
Around £60,000 will go towards the transformational re-display of the tiger head finial from the throne of Tipū Sultān, a significant item in the internationally important South Asian Collection at Powis Castle.
The funding will help create a redesigned exhibition space putting the object in its broader context, the Welsh Government says.
It's intended to help visitors to the castle "explore the complex colonial histories behind its presence in the South Asian Collection" and engage more meaningfully with the stories it represents.
Shane Logan, general manager at Powis Castle and Garden, said: “This vital support provided by the Welsh Government will allow us to share and discuss with all our communities, a key moment in British and South Asian history through the lens of Tipū Sultān’s tiger head finial.
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"This is an exciting step forward not only allowing us to tell more open and inclusive histories but also inviting people to interrogate the past by understanding what it means to the people of Wales today and what it means to a more cohesive and equal Wales in the future.”
As Governor of Madras, Edward Clive was responsible for the defeat and death of Tīpū Sultān in 1799.
The ruler of the Indian state of Mysore, he succeeded his father to the throne in 1782 and was a devout Muslim who ruled over a predominantly Hindu population.
The East India Company fought three wars against Mysore to control the land and its rich resources, before seizing power at the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799.
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After Tīpū Sultān was killed at Seringapatam, the British army swept into the city, and the treasury of precious objects and artefacts were distributed among the victors, with some now in the Clive Museum at Powis in Welshpool.
The Welsh Government's Cultural Transformational Capital Programme will provide funding to six public libraries, three museums, and two archive services to help them modernise facilities, create a more sustainable future, and improve their offer to local communities.
Jack Sargeant, Minister for Culture, said: “Programmes like these have, and continue to be, a vital way for our cultural assets to ensure their services are fit for purpose, modern and that their delivery can become more sustainable."
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