The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c13.s13: The King-and-the-Queen Type
The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c13.s13
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The King-and-the-Queen Type
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In his King-and-the-Queen type, which was unknown before the discovery of the Bayana hoard, Kumāragupta is reviving the only known coin-type of Chandragupta I. Only one coin of this type has been found so far. On its obverse, we have the king and the queen standing and facing each other, as on the prototype. The posture of the queen, who is facing right, is exactly similar to that of Kumāradevi; the hands of the two queens are exactly in the same position. The king is facing left. But he is no longer holding a standard in his left hand; this fashion had been given up long ago. His left hand rests on the hip, grasping the hilt of a sword. Like Chandragupta I, he is offering by his right hand a gift to the queen, which in the present specimen can be distinctly made out to be a bunch of flowers. Between the king and the queen there is a crescent, as on some coins of Chandragupta I. On the reverse we have the goddess seated on a lion couchant, as on the prototype. Her left hand resting on waist is empty, the foreign cornucopiæ in the prototype being given up; the right hand holds a lotus with long stalk instead of a noose (*pāśa*). The goddess is slightly reclining to left as on the reverse of variety B of class II of the Lion-slayer type of the present emperor.¹ The present rare type may be presumed to be later than that variety of the Lion-slayer type.
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¹ Only the posture of the feet is slightly different. Both the feet are folded up on the present coin; the right one is hanging down on lion-slayer type, class II, variety B; see Pl. XII. 9.
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We now proceed to describe the coin.
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(1) Gold; .75"; 126.7 grains; *B.H.*, Pl. XXXI. 14.
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*Obv:* King standing to r., bare-headed and with frizzled hair, wearing coat, *dhoti*, earrings, necklace, wristlets and armlets. The king's l. hand is on the hilt of the sword at his waist and he is offering by the r. hand, bent up, a bunch of flowers to the queen standing to r. facing him. The queen wears earrings, necklace and bangles; her r. hand is on the waist and the l. one is hanging down. Crescent between the king and the queen. Indistinct traces of legend on the r.
c13.s13.6
*Rev:* Goddess, nimbate, seated facing, on lion couchant to r., holding a lotus in r. hand bent up, and leaning on the l. hand resting on thigh. The goddess wears earrings, necklace, bangles, armlets and a girdle. The folds of her *sārī* are clearly visible. Dotted border all round. No symbol. Legend on the r. *Śri-Kumāraguptaḥ*. Pl. XXIV. 61.
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(Pl. XIV. 4)