n 29th December 1834, Wilkie wrote to Lady Baird that he had been promised free access to the armoury of the late king, George IV, formerly at Carlton House, and 'containing superb collection of the arms and accoutrements of Tippoo Sahib.' Lady Baird also lent items from the Indian trophies at Fern Tower, and Wilkie was lent 'a coach-load of turbans, pelisses, trousers of the richest stuffs' in which to clothe his models. Some of these he obtained from India House, as he related in a letter of 15 October 1835 to Lady Baird:

'I was told that there were three Hindoo cavalry soldiers every day at the India House …..I obtained their consent to sit to me, and they came, a Jemidar and two inferior officers, in their native dress. I explained to them, by the interpreter, what I wanted, and put them on a platform in a group, the Jemidar, as Tippoo, reclining with his head supported by one of his lieutenants, and his hand held by the other, with his finger on his pulse, to know if he were alive or dead. The group was magnificent, and I was all ectasy to realise such a vision of character and colour. It was, indeed a vision, and a vision only; for, all of a sudden, the youngest of them said, "Me no Tippoo!" and sprang from his position, while the others repeated, "No Tippoo I!" and, to my surprise, left their places also, and no persuasion I could use could induce them to resume them.'

The young boy next to the man with the lamp may be intended to represent one of Tipu's sons, and the female figure Tipu's mother. They would later mourn over Tipu's body in the palace, before the sons escorted his bier to its final resting place at Gumbaz.