LONDON.- An Ottoman gilt bridle, breast-plate and crupper taken from the residential quarters of Tipu Sultan (1750-99), Sultan of Mysore (Seringapatam), in the 18th Century, and brought to England by Field Marshall Sir Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere (1773-1865) is for sale in Bonhams Indian Islamic sale on April 5th in London.

Made in Turkey of red morocco, the brow-band, head- and cheek-pieces are faced with interlocking rectangular plaques of gilt-brass, each cast with an eight-petalled flowerhead design. The decorative scheme of the bridle, in particular the presence of the crescent moon, is in keeping with Ottoman military decoration of the late 17th and 18th Centuries. In the 17th Century, the Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, controlling much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa.

In 1794 at the age of 21 Stapleton Cotton was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the newly formed 25th Light Dragoons (Gwyn's Hussars). He led the regiment throughout the campaign against Tipu Sultan in 1799, including the Battle of Malavelly and the siege of Seringapatam.

The present bridle was part of a substantial collection of booty taken from Tipu's stronghold by Lt. Col. Cotton, and together with a breast-plate, was specifically recorded as being Tipu's personal property. The greater part of Colonel Cotton's Seringapatam booty, including both the bridle and the breast-plate, was given by him to his friend the Rt. Hon. Charles Watkin Williams Wynn, MP (1796-1850). Williams Wynn was a distinguished collector and benefactor of antiquities and the arts.

The bridle is mentioned in the privately published biography of Charles Watkin Williams Wynn, written by his grandson: "There is also a collection of armour………. including several swords, and the richly-decorated red moroccco bridle and breastplate of Tipoo Sahib, being trophies from Seringapatam in 1799.

It is likely this parade bridle was part of a princely or ambassadorial gift to Tipu Sultan from the Ottoman Sultan Selim III (1761-1808). As early as 1784, Tipu had sent an exploratory mission to the Sublime Porte to find out whether an embassy there would be productive and to seek military assistance to put an end to the British menace in India. He sent a large mission consisting of 900 people on 17 November 1785, reaching Constantinople on 25th September 1787. Selim III received Tipu's emissaries with honour and decorated them. The Sultan accorded permission to Tipu to assume the title of an independent monarch, the right to strike coins and to have the khutba read in his name. The envoys were also charged with friendly letters, khillats, arms and armour by the caliph and his grand wazir.

Similar bridles are amongst booty captured from the Turks at the siege of Vienna in 1683 and in subsequent battles during the reconquest of Hungary and the Balkans.