Obverse: Vasudeva standing, facing left,
holding a trident in both hands, sacrificing over
an altar.
Reverse: Shiva standing, facing frontally,
holding a trident in his left hand, in front of
the bull Nandi.
The ancient region of northeastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan was
situated at a confluence of trading paths along the Silk Route, an area was
flooded in cultural influences ranging from Greece to China. After the
conquests of Alexander the Great, the creation of Greco-Bactrian kingdoms,
and the general Hellenization of the subcontinent, Western aesthetic tastes
became prominent. Greek influence began to permeate into the arts and
culture. Eventually, the Bactrian Kingdom was absorbed by the nomadic
Kushan tribes, who settled in the region and went on to establish their own
dynasty. The area flourished under the Kushans and their greatest emperor,
Kanishka, who is traditionally given credit for further spreading the
philosophies of Buddhism throughout Central Asia and into China. This period
is viewed as one of the most important eras in the history of Buddhism.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether
contemporary currencies or artifacts of long
forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck
coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and
intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in
contemporary machine-made currencies. The
iconography of this coin, featuring the emperor
offering a sacrifice at an altar on the obverse and
a representation of Shiva on the reverse, is
related to earlier examples first struck under
Emperor Vima, who revolutionized Kushan currency
by introducing gold in addition to the standard
copper coinage. The pantheon of gods and
goddesses represented on the coins, including
Greek, Bactrian, Hindu, and Zoroastrian deities in
addition to the Buddha, are indicative of the
culturally diverse empire the Kushan ruled over.
This coin is a memorial to an ancient emperor and
his empire passed from the hands of
civilization to civilization, from generation to
generation that still appears as vibrant today as
the day it was struck.
