Skip to main content

Capture of Ceylon Medal: CM.1164-2009

An image of Capture of Ceylon Medal

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Mint: Calcutta
Issuer: East India Company
Ruler: George III (1760-1820) (Struck in the rule of)

Entities

Categories

Description

The island of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, was first taken over from its inhabitants by the Portuguese in 1505; the Dutch replaced them during the seventeenth century. In a campaign from 1795 to 1796 the British East India Company ousted Dutch rule and took the island over.
This medal was issued by the Company to a force of 120 Indian gunners from the Bengal Artillery who served in the campaign. It is unnamed, and the recipient's identity unknown. Lester Watson bought it from the dealer Gifford in 1927.

Notes

History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Gifford 1927

Legal notes

Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 50.2 mm
Weight: 48.32 g

Place(s) associated

  • Calcutta

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester

Dating

Production date: AD 1796

Materials used in production

Silver

Techniques used in production

Struck

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Persian inscription

  • Text: [This Medal was given by way of acknowledgement of services in Ceylon in the year of the Hijra, 1209-1210]
  • Location: Obverse
  • Type: Design

Inscription present: Inscription

  • Location: Reverse
  • Type: Design

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.1164-2009
Primary reference Number: 141258
Watson Catalogue: 50
Ordering: M-0047
Previous object number: LW.0047
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 15 January 2024 Last processed: Monday 15 January 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Capture of Ceylon Medal" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141258 Accessed: 2024-12-23 06:48:28

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141258 |title=Capture of Ceylon Medal |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-23 06:48:28|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-141258

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0047_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Capture of Ceylon Medal"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Capture of Ceylon Medal</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...