Painting Description and Analysis[54] Camels and elephants at the rear of the main army: Camels and elephants regularly appear in battle processions. The camel riders wear conical shaped helmets and carry either muskets with fixed bayonets or swords. Drummers, seated on elephants adorned with tigerstriped caps, add to the musical fanfare accompanying Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan who precede them. They could also play an important role in conveying messages on the battle field. A Haidar Ali rides into battle on his elephant: Haidar Ali wearing a gold spotted white kameez, strings of white pearls and a red turban enters the field on his favourite elephant, Poongaj. Haidar sits in an elaborate howdah with an attendant and is shown holding a flower, a popular Mughal stylistic motif. At the front of the howdah an oustretched green canopy provides some shade. Underneath can be seen the mahout who is holding an ankus or elephant goad. Haidar's elephant, Poongaj, is adorned with girdles of bells and earrings in addition to the large decorative saddle. B Tipu Sahib (below Haidar Ali) on his elephant: Tipu who played a major role in the Battle of Pollilur enters the field. Tipu wears a blue green kameez decorated with tiger stripes and a turban with a jewelled plume. He is portrayed in the popular Mughal stylistic pose of holding a rose and on his right forearm can be seen a jewelled 'bazu band' or armguard . Tipu's howdah consists of an elaborate parasol (sharing the regal symbolism of the sacred Hindu 'chhatra') and is not enclosed like that of his father Haidar Ali's, who can be seen at some distance above him. It is supposed that this distance suggests the two armies of Haidar and Tipu converging at Pollilur. C Mysorean footsoldiers carrying swords: The Mysorean soldiers below Tipu exchange glances. They sport different coloured turbans and carry tall spears in one hand and swords in the other. D Mir Sadik greets Tipu Sahib: Mir Sadik riding a richly caparisoned horse appears before Tipu. His gesture indicates that he is greeting Tipu at the same time as inviting him to war. E Mysorean footsoldiers carrying tall spears: Mysorean foot soldiers wearing kneelength white trousers, advance before Haidar Ali. They carry tall, large spears decorated with red, yellow and black tassles. F Musicians turn to face Haidar Ali: Detail showing musicians with trumpets and tabors looking backwards at Haidar as he enters the field. G Mysorean archers on foot: Detail showing standing Mysorean archers. The bindi can be seen on their foreheads indicating their Hindu faith. They wear straps to support their turbans and sandals on their feet. H Indian soldiers advance behind hill: Indian soldiers advance unseen from behind a small hill at the top of the picture. They include archers and men on horseback carrying spears as well as snipers who aim their guns in the direction of the British. I Dusta of mounted Mysorean archers: A contingent or 'dusta' armed with bows and arrows travelling horizontally at the top of the field joins the general charge. J Mysorean horsemen shown riding diagonally: Here we can see the Mysorean cavalry charge which traverses the painting diagonally from bottom to top. Some of the horsemen carry swords others bows and arrows. K The Indian cavalry charge builds up momentum: The horsemen wear conical shaped quilted helmets with neck flaps similiar to those identified as belonging to Tipu's arsenal. It has also been suggested that these may be Maratha cavalry. The Marathas were part of the Indian alliance against the British in the 2nd Anglo Mysore War. A few carry crossbows or muskets but the majority carry swords which they hold up belligerently. They wear shields on their backs. L Multiple close combat scenes: A Mysorean horseman spears a British soldier, knocking his hat off - a frequent motif for victims. At the same time, the Indian soldier below, holding a knuckle weapon, appears to be falling backwards and possibly kicking the British soldier infront, who in turn is firing closerange into the midrift of another horseman. M Mysorean soldiers operating cannon: Two Mysorean soldiers can be seen operating canon. One hand is occupied with lighting the fusewire, the other with holding the ramrod also referred to as a ‘scouring stick’– used for loading the canon ball into the muzzle and pushing it up against the gun powder propellant. N European soldier with moustache thought to be on the English side: A standing European soldier with a moustache points his musket in the direction of the British Square and an Indian horsemen. Although he sports a moustache like the Frenchmen who are without exception portrayed with moustaches, it is more likely that he is a British soldier as no other French are depicted in this part of the painting. He also wears a double crossbelt and a tall hat whereas the French are depicted with single crossbelts and shorter plain black hats. O British getting hacked to pieces in the Mysorean cavalry charge: This scene shows the thick of the battle with many of the British cavalry being slaughtered. On the right side of the scene the Mysorean cavalry press into the British Square. A large Maratha commander is pierced by a bayonet which sends his green cap flying. Nearby a headless British soldier can be seen still standing. On the far left of the scene, the furthest extremity of the British force are visible. A cavalry officer wearing a red overcoat without a crossbelt has both his arms outstretched having been lanced. Among the various objects are numerous flying canon balls and an isolated kutar – a kind of dagger characterised by an H-shaped horizontal hand grip. P Single British cavalry officer firing musket: In the chaos a single British cavalry officer rides towards the British Square firing a musket. His assailant, a Mysorean on horseback, also riding against the flow, makes a stab at him with an almost imperceptible spear. Q Horseman’s head blown off by cannon and hand to hand combat: A British soldier, drawn in gigantic proportions, is lanced while he fires a canon shot at the Mysorean horseman whose severed head falls to the ground spurting blood. Close by a Mysore and British foot soldier can be seen sparring. The Mysorean carries a knuckle weapon in his left hand and a sword in his other while the Britisher fights with his bayonet. R Explosion of the British ammunition cart: The exploding ammunition cart in the middle of the British square which pushed the outcome of the battle in favour of the Mysoreans as it caused the British to run out of gunpowder. An Indian sepoy pours water into the cart. S Colonel Baillie being transported in a palanquin: Colonel Baillie appears in the middle of the men he commanded, seated in a palanquin carried by six Indian bearers and wearing a cocked hat. By this stage of the battle he was wounded. He appears to be biting his index finger and is portrayed as an effeminate figure. T British ammunition tumbrels: British ammunition tumbrels with artillery men in the foreground. U Captairn Baird pointing on horseback: Captain Baird points towards the explosion of ammunition while addressing Lieutenant Colonel Fletcher who is beside him. V Lieutenant Colonel Fletcher on horseback: Lieutenant Colonel Fletcher on horseback. He is side by side with Captain Baird. The Colonel appears to adopt the same gesture as his superior Colonel Baillie of nervously putting his finger on his lip or even biting it, doubtless in reaction to the ammunition explosion inside the British Square. W Soldiers in the British Square: British soldiers in tight formation at the bottom of the defensive square they formed against the Indian cavalry attacks, of which they managed to repulse a total of 13 before surrendering. They wear double crossbelt red overcoats and tall hats with a white ribbon, a gold decoration and an aigrette. In contrast to the moustachio'd French they are characterised by their muttonchop whiskers. X Mysore cavalry breach the right side of British Square: Mysorean horsemen wearing blue and red tunics attack the right side of the British Square in diagonal formation. The horses' saddles, against which the sword scabbards are visible, are also coloured and have a gold hem. One Mysorean in green, catapulted into the air with his arms outstretched, appears to emerge from the body of a fellow countryman also in green who is bent back over his horse. It is unlikely the artist intended this effect but failed to correct the mistake. Y Horse floundering hit by cannon fire: A Mysorean on horseback is fired at by a British artillery man which causes him to flop sideways over his saddle while still wielding his sword. The horse, with its distorted limbs, appears to be in state of shock and maybe also wounded. Infront some examples of hand-to-hand combat. Z Two horsemen clash head on and a soldier is hit by an arrow: Two horsemen confront eachother head on. The British officer fights with a sword although more frequently they are seen with bayonets. Behind him a British soldier who has been mortally wounded by an arrow can be seen prostrate. The sense of perspective in relation to the ground is lost. 1 Hand to hand fighting between footsoldier and horseman: This depiction of close fighting shows a British soldier using the bayonet at the end of his musket against a Mysorean horseman wielding a sword. It also is an example of perspective error as the former looks like he is embracing the horse's neck. 2 Close combat scene with soldier trampled to death: A British officer thrusts his bayonet at a Mysorean on horseback while another Mysorean tramples over the prostrate body of a British soldier whom he has just killed with his lance. 3 British soldier attacking French artilleryman: A British soldier appears to march fearlessly into the line of the enemy cannon's fire carrying his musket like a pickaxe while the French artilleryman defiantly has his hand on the fuse. The scene is a good example of how scale can be intentionally distorted with the figure of the British soldier made threateningly large in contrast to the dimunitive pair of onlooking artillery men. 4 Mysorean horseman holding up decapitated head: A Mysorean horseman riding back towards the open space, occupied by a commander, proudly displays the decapitated head of a British victim in one hand while holding aloft his sword in the other. 5 French artillery firing at the British Square: The French artillery men take aim from their hilly vantage point at the British Square and ammunition tumbrels. The cannons are fired with fuse wire. Some of the artillery men carry ramrods, resembling long brushes, which were used for loading the cannons. Most of the French depicted in the painting can be found close to this spot in the top right of the painting. The French were at war with England in India as they were in Europe and took the side of Haidar Ali. Apart from being distinguished by their moustaches, the French uniforms are subtly different to those of the British: their red overcoats normally have a single white cross belt; their hats are less high than those of the British and they don’t carry muskets. 6 General Sayyid Gaffur right side appearance: Sayyid Gaffur is probably shown here in the middle of some open ground with his attendant who carries a large insignia. He rides a richly caparisoned chestnut horse and wears a gold-embroidered turban, red tunic, cummerbund and spotted green trousers. This would be his second appearance in the painting as he has also been identified next to Haidar Ali according to Seringapatam by Constance Parsons (1931). 7 Indian horsemen wearing helmets rally each other: Indian horsemen wearing conical shaped helmets with neck flaps raise their swords. The same non-metal quilted headgear or 'peti' can be seen on horsemen on the opposite side of the painting. It is possible to observe their stirrups. Some of them look behind, urging eachother on in the charge. 8 Mons Lally surveying the British Square with his telescope: Mons Lally is shown looking out of a telescope from the summit of a hill, wearing a cocked hat with a white plume. The gradient is partly suggested by his posture with one foot placed on a higher piece of ground. A soldier holds the tether of his undecorated brown horse. Mons Lally is credited in some accounts of the battle with perceiving the British ammunition and ordering his artillery to aim at it. The result can be seen in the explosion in the middle of the British Square. 9 General Sayyid Gaffur left side appearance: With Haidar Ali is General Sayyid Gaffur. He is riding a richly caparisoned chestnut horse while his attendant shields him with a parasol. He has also been identified by Constance Parsons in Seringapatam (1931) on the right side of the painting. 10