MAURYAN PERIOD: Buddhist votive stupa, AE stupa-shape (8.81g), Pieper AIC (1998), plate 30, engraved as a Buddhist stupa with the doorway of the stupa on the right and the depiction of a tree in railing on the left; there is nothing engraved on the back side, EF, RRR, ex Wilfried Pieper Collection. According to the consignor: Such portable stupas suggest a Buddhist background (Buddhist votive stupa). They are reported to have been found in association with Mauryan punchmarked silver and cast copper coins. It was also suggested that such items were attached to the tips of the horns of bulls, and this would explain the two perforations at the base. Extremely rare and exceedingly interesting!
Estimate: $260-350