A highly decorated oar given to the boatmen of Bednore by their Raja. August 15 1805

Pen and ink drawing of a elaborately decorated oar given by the Rajas of Bednore and kept by the boatmen at Shimoga. This drawing is taken from an album of 156 drawings (185 folios) chiefly of architecture and sculpture in S. India, dated 1803-08, from the MacKenzie Collection. Some drawings are by MacKenzie himself, others by his assistant surveyors and draftsmen, including H. Hamilton and J. Newman.The last quarter of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century were a period of considerable instability in the history of Southern India with continuos incursions from the north first by the Marathas, then the Adil Shahis and Qutb Shahi and finally by the Mughal. In the second half of the century much of the region was invaded by Haider Ali and the French and British struggled for control of the 'Carnatic'. In 1763, Bednore, now Haidarnagar, was invaded by Haider Ali, the Sultan of Mysore, who had usurped the Mysore throne two years earlier from the Wodeyar king, and the Keladi Nayaka dynasty fell. He ruled for the next 19 years and was succeeded by his son, Tipu, who ruled for the next 17 years. In 1782-83, during the Third Mysore War, Bednore surrendered to the British forces.