[INDIA]

Copper Plate Document

[Eastern India, possibly Bengal or Assam]: [circa 18th-19th century]. Copper plate (13 7/8 x 9 1/8 inches) engraved on both sides. The principal face with several lines of incised text at the head, followed by a large engraved validating or emblematic mark, and below this three dense sections of text divided by ruled horizontal lines. The reverse largely uninscribed, with three small engraved seals or validating marks near the edge.

An inscribed copper plate of Indian origin, possibly Bengal or Assam, engraved in a Bengali or Bengali-Assamese script and preserving a formal documentary text in metal.

This copper plate belongs to the South Asian tradition of preserving legal, devotional, and administrative records on durable metal supports. Copper plate documents, often described as tamrapatra or copper charters, were used for grants, endowments, title rights, decrees, and other formal acts, their material permanence giving them authority beyond that of ordinary manuscript documents. The present example appears to preserve a substantial text, arranged in ruled sections and accompanied by validating marks. The script appears close to Bengali or Bengali-Assamese. The letterforms show rounded and looped shapes consistent with scripts used in eastern India. If confirmed, this would suggest an origin in Bengal, Assam, or a neighbouring region where related scripts were used for administrative and religious writing. From their earliest centuries of development, copper plate inscriptions have occupied a central place in South Asian documentary culture, particularly in the recording of land grants, royal edicts, temple endowments, and other formal transactions. Their durability made them suitable for preserving records intended to endure, and they were often deposited in temples or held by families or institutions as proof of rights and privileges. While earlier examples are frequently associated with royal chancelleries, the practice continued into the early modern and colonial periods, with regional administrations and local authorities maintaining related forms of documentation. The present plate appears to belong to this later phase of the tradition, when such documents were still being produced for administrative, legal, or commemorative purposes. Its relatively large format and the density of inscription suggest a formal text of some substance, while the additional engraved devices indicate an effort to authenticate or formalise the record. The copper plate offers a direct example of a documentary practice that bridges manuscript culture and more durable forms, preserving both the text itself and the physical conventions of its transmission.

Item #42798

Price: $7,500.00