Shahi Jital With Elephant And Lion - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 2,005
Palouche Pillar of the Community Spain 2752 Posts	Posted 01/14/2018 1:00 pm Again another 6$ impulse buy! Just loved the look of it! Shahis of Ohind AE Jital of Vakka Deva around 870 AD.? Diameter 18mm and 1.9 grams. Obv. Elephant facing left with the name "Sri Vakka Deva" above in Nagari. Rev. Lion to the right with gaping mouth, tongue out and one front paw raised. Diamond symbol in the rump. About 750 A.D. the Shahi dynasty issued coins showing a Brahma bull on one side and a horseman on the other side. Over the next 500 years many rulers in an area encompassing what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwest India issued coins based on this one design.As time went on, the design tended to become more abstract and the original images harder to find. Yet five hundred years after the first coinage, one still finds abstract designs that upon careful inspection still show that they are derived from the original Shahi coinage. The Shahi originals are made of good silver while many of the later designs are made of billon or copper.These coins are all referred to as jitals, as opposed to a specific denomination, since their value varied so widely over the centuries.Interestingly these designs were used by both Muslim and Hindu rulers.The original coinsweighed 4.3 grams, but through time the weight drifted downward. Soon many issues appeared with the bull on one side and Persian script on the reverse. The elephant /lion jitals are less common than the much seen bull /horseman of say Samanta deva and still (for me) carry that lovely naive abstraction of the indian engravers.. Paul Report this Post to the Staff

echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 01/14/2018 2:38 pm Very n ice coin, I am developing an interest in Indian coinage, there are so many different type to learn about. Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 01/14/2018 3:40 pm Fantastic write-up, Paul. Thanks for posting this. Quite interesting coin and history. I'm a sucker for "that lovely naive abstraction" too! Although sometimes, with some Eastern and Celtic series that employ linear abstraction, I wonder whether "naive" is too biased a word, based on Western prejudices. Report this Post to the Staff
Palouche Pillar of the Community Spain 2752 Posts	Posted 01/14/2018 5:07 pm Thanks guys... Quote: I am developing an interest in Indian coinage, there are so many different type to learn about. Very true and an added advantage, at the moment, is you can pick up nice coins relatively cheaply,so if your on a tight budget, like me, you can still enjoy collecting. Quote: I wonder whether "naive" is too biased a word, based on Western prejudices. Bob I wasn't using 'naive' in a bad way but with 'mucho cariño'.I spent last weekend in Barcelona,visited the the Picasso museum ,then opposite the ancient world museum and finally the Egyptian museum.It really blew me away how a few simple lines or forms can portray such detailed images and one of the few times when,''what your eyes see your mind ignores''.I still love the detail portrayed on Roman or Greek coins for example but abstract forms still turn my head...I've seen some of your works your a pretty amazing artist yourself Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 01/14/2018 5:29 pm Quote: visited the the Picasso museum I like that little museum! As much as my wife and I enjoyed the work on display there, our biggest takeaway from our visit there was a group of about 20 local kids on a school trip, all super well-behaved, sitting on the floor in front of one of Picasso's paintings, while a docent talked to them about the work. The kids were absolutely enthused and entranced. Each time the docent asked them a question, every hand enthusiastically went up...each child wanted so much to share his or her interpretation based on the question. We stood behind them quietly smiling and enjoying the learning going on. It was such a nice scene, I'll never forget it: the enthusiasm for art, the kids totally inspired and captivated and well behaved. Sadly I rarely see that level of focus and engagement with youngsters here in the Estados Unidos. I hope you also got to La Sagrada Familia... Report this Post to the Staff
Palouche Pillar of the Community Spain 2752 Posts	Posted 01/14/2018 5:52 pm Quote: Quote: I hope you also got to La Sagrada Familia... We did...my wife doesn't like heights so she crawled on all fours across the flying buttress at the top of the lift shaft to the spiral stone staircase to the amazement of the other tourists Edited by Palouche 01/14/2018 5:54 pm Report this Post to the Staff
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