KASHMIR, 7TH CENTURY

The inscription running along the lower edge of the base, as translated by Dr. Oskar von Hinüber of the University of Freiburg, reads: "Pious gift of the son and mother and father together with the grandson together with Kadgena." While the name Kadgena is unknown in any other sources, the idiosyncrasies of the script, according to Dr. von Hinüber, mean the work can be safely dated to the second half of the 7th century. The dating of the work through the text also aligns stylistically with the corpus of other dated bronzes from this period. While the lion throne motif is seen in Kushan works both in Gandhara and Mathura as early as the 2nd century AD, the placement of a seated yakshi between the lions is only found in the Kashmiri context from this period.