Toy Soldiers

Transcript

Voiceover:

Now, in "A small piece of history", Michael Ball of the National Army Museum presents a favourite object from the Collection.

Michael Ball:

My favorite objects are this collection of Indian bronze figurines. They were made about 1790 in a place called Vizagapatam which is on the east coast of India and they represent the troop types of the Indian Princely State of Mysore.

We've got here a selection of troop types, some in Indian and one in European dress. At the front we have two infantrymen, one holding a musket. Here we have an Indian cavalryman in quilted armour.

Another Indian cavalryman here, this chap is holding rockets. The first time the British had actualy encountered rockets was when they fought the troops of the Indian princelies.

And finally we have the the Raja himself in his elephant at the back here and his parasol folded down.

They're very finely made. One of the most interesting things about them is that the craftsman who made them has obviously been having some fun while he's been doing it because the faces on these, they're all different, but they're all caricatures. I think what he's perhaps trying to do is sort of prick the pomposity of the military types. You can see these figures sort of strutting their stuff.

We don't actually know what these are made for. They come in a great variety of poses, this is only a selection from a larger collection, so we don't think they're chess pieces.

What is more likely is that they're toy soldiers, probably made for obviously a rich and very influential client, perhaps a prince of one of the Indian princely states. They may have been used to teach princes the rudiments of war.

This is the ancestor of the boxes of Britains Toy Soldiers which little boys used to get as Christmas presents.