Description
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Essays On Indian Antiquities Historic Numismatic And Palaeographic : To Which Are Added Tables Illustrative Of Indian History Chronology Modern Coinages Weights Measures Etc. by James Prinsep , Edited by Edward Thomas
A key figure in the history of Benares Varanasi, James Prinsep 1799-1840 was instrumental in expanding Western knowledge of Indian civilisation. After briefly studying under Pugin, he became an assay master in Calcutta in 1819, and soon moved to Benares. His talents were many, and within a few years he had completed a detailed map of the city, designed a new mint, engineered a system to improve sanitation and begun studying the inscriptions and coins that helped him to decipher two ancient scripts and to establish the dates of Indian dynasties. Collected in 1858 and edited by the numismatist Edward Thomas 1813-86, these essays are generously illustrated, often in Prinseps hand, and display the enormous breadth of his knowledge. Volume 1 includes a short biography by his brother, along with articles on coins, relics and archaeological discoveries.show more