By

Edited by: Joe Cribb

Contributor

.

Item Type

Paperback

Serial

15737

Publisher

The Marg Foundation

Description

122p.

Summay

Coins were first issued in northern India at least as early as the 4th century BC, and their purpose was to make payments. By the end of the 1st century BC, their efficiency caused them to spread to all levels of society and to the rest of India and the surrounding countries. Because of their religious designs and integral value, coins began to hold a unique place in Indian culture, quickly entering spheres other than simple payment--conjuring up mythologies of magical powers and inspiring art. They have been used as religious offerings, royal gifts and as personal ornaments for over two thousand years. And when real coins couldn’t be used, imitations of coins began to be used as substitutes from the 1st century AD—whether as copies of Roman coins in southern India or down to today’s Diwali gift coins and coin jewellery. Rather than focus on their archaeological or economic value, or use them to determine chronologies of monarchs, this volume explores how coins create, and mobilise, an aura of the sacred and the precious.

Accession No.

15737

Current Location

Neeti Bagh

Status

Available

Category

Indian Art