Art Resource - ART307927

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Gold dinara coin of Kumaragupta I, Gupta dynasty, North India, c415-50. D: 2.0cm, W: 8.07g. Sir Alexander Cunningham Collection. CM 1894-5-6-962. - This unique design shows a tethered horse. It symbolises the ashvamedha ritual of legitimizing the conquests of a honourable and pious king. After a great victory, a horse was left to roam for a year and all the lands he passed through in that time belonged rightfully to the king. At the end of the year the horse was sacrificed in celebration of the great king's victory. The reverse of this coin shows a goddess (probably Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of good fortune), with the royal attributes of a standard and a flywhisk.

Location British Museum/London/Great Britain

Unique Identifier ART307927

Type Image

Purpose Public

Size 3600px × 1876px

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