The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c7.14

c7.14

Gupta gold coins display superb craftsmanship and are masterpieces of design and artistic technique. The Lion-slayer coins of Chandragupta II, displaying his slim, muscular and graceful body (Pl. VI. 6; VII. 5) have hardly any equals in their superb grace. The figures of standing queens or goddesses are slim, lovely and winsome (Pl. VIII. 7, 11); the graceful manner in which they hold a lotus flower or scatter gold coins or feed the peacock, show the refined taste of the age (Pl. IV. 1; IV. 8, XI. 2-4). Their tribhaṅga posture is extremely charming (Pl. XII. 1). The tall and majestic personality of Samudragupta can be very well visualised from his coins (Pl. II). The designs of the King-and-the-Queen types of Chandragupta I (Pl. I. 8-13) and Kumāragupta I (Pl. XIV. 4), of the Lyrist and Aśvamedha types of Samudragupta (Pl. III. 15-16, 6-12), of the Chakravikrama and Lion-slayer types of Chandragupta II (Pl. IX. 8-9; VI), and the ‘Apratigha’, Rhinoceros-slayer and the Elephant-rider-Lion-slayer types of Kumāragupta I (Pl. XIV. 1-3, XIII. 3-6; XIII. 1-2), are all original and show complete mastery of the artistic technique.