The British army broke up Tipu Sultan's gold throne to divide as prize money; his sword sold for £14 million in 2023 while descendants pulled rickshaws

On 4 May 1799 the East India Company's army stormed Seringapatam. Tipu Sultan was killed, and his body was found near the Water Gate. Arthur Wellesley wrote to his mother that "scarcely a house in town was left un-plundered." A Committee of Prize valued the palace treasure and sold jewels and gold; the first day's count in the treasury came to about 1.2 million pagodas. Shares went by rank: £100,000 to the commander, General Harris, £10,000 to each general officer and £7 to each private. The committee had Tipu's gold throne broken up for division, although the Governor-General wanted it reassembled for the King. His war turban went to Lord Cornwallis and has been in the National Army Museum since 1971. His mechanical tiger reached East India House in London in 1800 and the V&A in 1880. His bedchamber sword was presented by the army to Major General David Baird; on 23 May 2023 it sold at Bonhams in London for £14 million, a world auction record for an Indian or Islamic object. Tipu's sons and their families were detained and banished to Calcutta. In 2014 a documentary showed descendants there working as rickshaw pullers and domestic help, while a trust controlled estates that included the Royal Calcutta Golf Club and the Tollygunge Club.