www.archaeopress.com
TREASURES
OF THE
GUPTA EMPIRE
Sanjeev Kumar
Sanjeev Kumar
Coins have existed for over 2,000 years in India, but none have matched the sheer beauty and
complexity of the coins issued by the kings of the Gupta dynasty from the fourth through the
sixth centuries AD. Starting from the first of the Gupta kings, Chandragupta I in AD 319, to the
last king Vishnugupta in AD 543, their coins are a historical record detailing the evolution of the
Gupta style and its impact on religious art from India’s Golden Age. The clues hidden in the coin
designs, Brahmi legends, dates, and metrology have been deciphered here to help reconstruct the
history of the Gupta dynasty.
This work greatly expands upon A. S. Altekar’s 1957 effort to fully document the coinage and to
understand its impact on the history of India. It includes the rarest of the coins from the
collections of major international museums as well as private collections, otherwise inaccessible
to most researchers, and provides full-color, high-definition images of type specimens for each
variety of coin issued by the Gupta kings. The book will help researchers, collectors, and history
buffs fully understand the Gupta dynasty’s complex history and beautiful coinage, and will serve
as the most comprehensive numismatic and historical reference of the Gupta dynasty for years
to come.
Sanjeev Kumar is Chairman of the Shivlee Trust, a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great
Britain, and an esteemed independent researcher and numismatist, who has devoted his life to
studying Gupta Dynasty history and numismatics. He is regarded as one of the leading authorities
and researchers on Gupta Dynasty coinage.
"As a comprehensive reference on the gold
coinage of the Guptas it is no doubt a huge
contribution… [Overall], this is a volume that I would
recommend as a standard reference to anyone with an
interest in Gupta coinage."
Robert Bracey, Curator, British Museum
Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society No. 230
Hardback; H 210 x W 297 mm; 604 pages; 172 figures, 30 tables, 9 charts, 6 maps (colour throughout).
ISBN 9781803277950; RRP: £120.00 (GBP) | $168.00 (USD); Publishing Summer 2024.
UK & Worldwide: Save 20% – order at www.archaeopress.com using voucher code 795020
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INDIA: www.rajgors.com/books Sample pages and additional book info: www.shivlee.com