Still a star after 3500 years

Go ahead, ask me "What it is the most beautiful, poetic and desirable object among the 50 works of gold on view in The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace?" Because I want to pipe up with my answer: It is a cup, not teeny, but small enough to rest in your palm--or mine as I began to imagine it as soon as I saw it. A powerful, mellow even modern design but made circa 1700 b.c. Still a star after 3500 years. Don't think this show (on until February 29), lacks more immediately eye- catching pieces. In fact I didn't notice the Rillaton Cup right away. For one thing it is at the far end of the large, long gallery. For another there was a hard to decipher object up close--maybe it was a comb but maybe it was an instrument for making music. 

Above: The Rillaton Cup    

Neither turned out to be right. It is a flat beaten crown with a plume that stands straight up--like stylized feathers. It is also exceedingly rare. The piece was dug up in Ecuador in 1854 and given by the country's president to Queen Victoria. Until recently it was assumed to be Inca but recent research suggests it was made well before the Inca's conquered south Ecuador in the 16th century. Bold but not something to hold attention or anyway mine. My eyes wandered. They were caught by a tiger. 

Pre-Inca Crown

This gold cat (below) was made in India in the 18th century from sheets of gold placed over a wood base. It was then etched and punched with designs that suggest fur but also battle scars. The latter were altogether appropriate..

Tiger head from Tipu Sultan's throne

Smaller, jewelled, images of tiger heads decorated the throne. (One is currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum in New York in a show of jewels owned by the Emir of Qatar.) This big guy was the throne's centerpiece.
   Tipu Sultan who ruled the kingdom of Mysore was opposed to the British presence in the subcontinent. He played the French against them as he tried to extend his realm. During the Fourth Battle of Mysore, British troops broke through their defences. It is believed he could have escaped but chose not to. "One day of life as a Tiger is far better than thousand years of living as a Jackal," is his alleged comment when that was proposed. He was killed. 
  This tiger, with its fierce yet thoughtful and magnificently decorated face survives. Part of the throne on which sat an ambitious, warrior Sultan who lived to die as a tiger became war booty and entered the English Royal Collection where it is proudly displayed today.  His tongue sticks out and moves--the better to make people approaching the Sultan feel more nervous. Today, alas, it makes it look more like a clever, luxurious toy. And then I saw the cup. Here is its story:

  

In 1837, men working at Rillaton on windy, bleak Bodmin Moor in Cornwall helped themselves to some stones piled up in an ancient burial mound. They uncovered a ceramic vessel inside which was this Bronze Age treasure. The land belonged to the Duchy of Cornwall--the Crown. The treasure belonged to the King and off it went to the palace.  Lucky us--it is on long term loan to the British Museum where all can see it when this show ends.