Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Pagoda - Bukkaraya I
| Issuer | Vijayanagara, Empire of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1344-1377 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Pagoda |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field depicts the deity Venkateshvara (Balaji) seated in a stylized, frontal posture, rendered in bold low relief characteristic of early Vijayanagara hammered coinage. The figure is shown with multiple arms, one hand raised holding a floral or fan-like object, likely a lotus or fly-whisk, while additional attributes are held in the remaining hands. A prominent circular pellet appears above the deity's head, possibly representing a crown or halo. The flan is irregular and slightly clipped at the edges, as is typical for hammered gold pagodas of this period. No legend appears on this face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Kannada |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Bukkaraya I ruled as the second sovereign of the Vijayanagara Empire during a period of sustained military pressure from the Bahmani Sultanate to the north, a rivalry that would define the empire's politics for the next two centuries. The pagoda denomination itself — derived from the Sanskrit term for temple — was the primary gold unit of the Deccan and southern India throughout this period, circulating widely enough to appear in the account books of foreign traders along the Malabar coast.
KM#156 attributions for this type remain contested among specialists; Vijayanagara gold is notoriously difficult to assign to specific reigns due to conservative die-cutting practices and the absence of regnal dating.