UK imposes export bar on Tipu's rare gun

A rare 18th century decorated gun made in India for Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, and valued at around GBP 2 million, has been barred from export to allow time for a UK-based institution to acquire it for the public study of a "fraught period" in the India-UK history. UK arts and heritage minister Lord Stephen Parkinson took the decision last week to impose the export ban on 'Flintlock Sporting Gun'.

The 14-bore gun, dated between 1793 and 1794, was designed for shooting game (birds) and is signed by maker Asad Khan Muhammed.