[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Architecture and art](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art) › [A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.smith-1911) › c19.s1.1 # A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c19.s1.1 A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c19.s1.1 - **Language:** English ### [c19.s1.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.smith-1911.c19.s1.1) It is a common error to suppose that the ancient Semitic prohibition of images, repeated in the Koran, invariably prevented Muhammadan artists from representing the forms of living creatures, real or imaginary. As a matter of fact, the prohibition, although respected as a rule, has been disregarded frequently in almost every Musalman country from the earliest ages of Islam to the present day, and especially in those countries, like Persia, where the Shīa sect prevails. The introduction of figure types in many ancient Muhammadan coinages was due to the business necessity of maintaining for a time the forms of currency to which people had become accustomed. For example, when the Sassanian dynasty of Persia fell in the seventh century the newly appointed Arab governors continued to issue coins in the familiar national form with the king's head, distinguished from the native issues merely by the insertion of Arabic legends in minute characters. In India Muhammad of Ghōr was obliged to accept a similar compromise and even to issue coins bearing the image of a Hindu goddess. - [Previous: c19.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.smith-1911.c19.4) - [Next: c19.s1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.smith-1911.c19.s1.2) - [Up: c19.s1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.smith-1911.c19.s1) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.smith-1911.c19.s1.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.smith-1911.c19.s1.1) · Pramāṇa