Parian ware statuette of Lieutenant (later Major) William Hodson, 1860 (porcelain)

Statuette of Lieutenant (later Major) William Hodson in 1858 circa. Parian ware (biscuit porcelain), made by Minton, 1860. A controversial figure, William Stephen Raikes Hodson was one of the most outstanding cavalry commanders of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859). On 21 September 1857, he received the surrender of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Moghul Emperor, after the fall of Delhi. The next day he arrested three of the royal princes (shazadas) in front of a large crowd outside the city walls. Hodson shot them in cold blood after they had freely given up their arms. Although the entire royal family had surrendered peacefully, several more of the Emperor’s sons were tried and hanged for ‘rebellion’. Hodson was later killed in action at Lucknow on 11 March 1858.