Indian Epigraphy c11.t4.39

c11.t4.39

Late copper-plate grants like those of the Ahom kings of Assam and the rulers of Chamba are generally written on one side of a single plate, though the size of the plate varies according to the requirement in individual cases. The donor's seal is usually engraved on such plates. The copper-plate grant of the Chamba rulers is provided with a handle to its proper right and the plate thus puts on the appearance of a *takhtī* or wooden board used formerly by school children. A hole is sometimes noticed in the centre of this handle probably for hanging it on to a peg with a string. The predilection for engraving only on one side of the plate is much in evidence in certain cases where the writing runs on into all the margins not excluding the handle, and the size of the letters in the concluding part of a record gradually diminishes.³