COINS AND CHARITY IN MUGHAL INDIA

Tue 20 Jun, 5-6pm

An Exclusive Online Talk for Members of the Ashmolean

Booking required

With Shailendra Bhandare, Acting Keeper, Heberden Coin Room and Senior Curator, South Asian and Far-Eastern Coins, Paper Money

The Mughal emperors of India viewed coinage as an important instrument in building their image.

Under the Mughals, coins became an integral part of court culture and became closely associated with the idea of kingship and power. One of the ways in which coins were deployed was about charity and largesse – the Mughals issued special coins literally to throw away!

Some such coins exist in the Ashmolean’s collection and this talk will offer ‘illuminating insights’ about their role by contextualising them with artistic depictions and textual references.

Indian coin in Ashmolean's collection (HCR115810)

Indian coin in the Ashmolean's collection (HCR115810)

This is the sixth talk of our Illuminating Insights series of monthly talks.

The talk will be available to watch live on Zoom and a recording of the event will be shared with ticketholders on request following the event.

About the Illuminating Insights series

The Illuminating Insights series of monthly talks, conceived by our Member Events volunteer team, will offer supporters an intimate look behind the scenes of the Museum's collections. Each talk is led by one of our curators or Museum experts exploring some of the more unusual, little-known Ashmolean treasures, and including a look at current research projects and conservation work. At the end of each talk there is a Q&A for attendees to exchange views with our experts.