James Prinsep
Encyclopedia
James Prinsep was an Anglo-Indian scholar and antiquary. He was the seventh son of John Prinsep
, a wealthy East India merchant
and Member of Parliament
.
From 1832 to 1838 he was assay-master in the India Government Mint, Kolkata
, Apart from architectural work (chiefly at Benares), his leisure was devoted to Indian inscriptions and numismatics
. He is most noted as a philologist for fully deciphering and translating the rock edicts of Asoka from Brāhmī script
.
as Assay Master at the Government mint in Banares under Dr. Horace Hayman Wilson, the distinguished Sanscrit Scholar. He ultimately became assay-master at the main Government mint
at Calcutta in 1832, succeeding Dr. Wilson, whom he likewise succeeded as secretary of the Asiatic Society
. During James Prinsep's years in the mint he reformed weights and measures, introduced a uniform coinage and devised a balance so delicate as to indicate the three-thousandth part of a grain (.1944 mg).
. Though an eye-affection prevented him from initially following that profession, he was an excellent architect. His eyesight later being completely restored, James Prinsep was able to undertake many architectural and engineering tasks of importance in addition to his work at the Mints at Calcutta and Benares. While at Benares, he completed the new mint building according to his own plan and also built a church. He also rebuilt the famous minarets of Arungzeb and built a fine bridge over the Karamansa River. At Calcutta he was on the committee for municipal improvements and distinguished himself by improving the city drainage system by constructing a tunnel connecting the Hooghly River with the Sunderbans Mangrove forest.
Appropriately for the assay-master of the Calcutta mint, coins always remained Prinsep's first interest. He interpreted Bactria
n and Kushan
coins. Also all the indigenous Indian series coins
, including the punch-marked ones — indeed the term was coined by Prinsep himself — the series of the autonomous republics, the Gupta series and so on. It was Prinsep who propounded the theory of the descent of the Gupta coins from the Kushan prototypes and this discussion also brought him to the question of the different stages in the technique of coin manufacture in India. He recognised the three stages represented by the
punch-marked
, the die-struck
and the cast coins
.
and the consequent clearing up of many of the mysteries of ancient Indian history. Thus more than forty years after 1788, Sir William Jones
's hope was realised when Prinsep was able to produce the key to unlock all the remaining secrets of the Brahmi script. However, it is only fair to remember that much of the Brahmi script had already been deciphered before the final achievement of Prinsep. Prinsep followed clues provided by others regarding the decipherment of Kharosthi and after some mistaken readings he was finally able, before his departure, to find the values of nineteen single letters and one compound of Kharosthi as well. The idea of the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum also goes back to the time of Prinsep and to his idea.
Prinsep literally worked himself to death. Desperately ill as he became, he had to leave unexpectedly in the midst of his labours and hence much of his work remained unfinished. As the new editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal commented: '... collectors in all parts of India were in the habit of submitting to his inspection whatever they lighted upon as unusual, and sought his reading and interpretation — but the study and exertions required were too severe for the climate of India, and the Editor's robust constitution sank at last under the incessant labour...' Yet before taking leave he had managed to set forth the main lines of Indian archaeological research for at least the next fifty years. Returning to England in 1838 in broken health, he died in London
of softening of the brain, on April 22, 1840 .
Prinsep's Ghat, an archway on the bank of the Hooghly River, was erected to his memory by the citizens of Calcutta. It is now the venue of the Prinsep Ghat Cultural Festival, a unique cultural event organised by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
(INTACH) in collaboration with corporate sponsors.
His research and writing were not confined to India. Prinsep also delved into the early history of Afghanistan, producing several works that touched on archaeological finds in that country. After James Prinsep's death his brother Henry Thoby Prinsep published in 1844 a volume exploring the numismatist's work in Afghanistan.
John Prinsep
John Prinsep was born the son of a vicar in rural Oxfordshire, England, with limited horizons for advancement. He joined the East India Company as a cadet, travelling to Bombay, and was soon engaged in mercantile pursuits, eventually becoming the earliest British merchant to plant indigo, and...
, a wealthy East India merchant
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
From 1832 to 1838 he was assay-master in the India Government Mint, Kolkata
India Government Mint, Kolkata
The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a building next to the Black Hole in the old fort - where the GPO stands today. It was called the Calcutta Mint and used to produce coins with the mint name. Murshidabad-Second Mint:The second Calcutta Mint was...
, Apart from architectural work (chiefly at Benares), his leisure was devoted to Indian inscriptions and numismatics
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
. He is most noted as a philologist for fully deciphering and translating the rock edicts of Asoka from Brāhmī script
Brāhmī script
Brāhmī is the modern name given to the oldest members of the Brahmic family of scripts. The best-known Brāhmī inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka in north-central India, dated to the 3rd century BCE. These are traditionally considered to be early known examples of Brāhmī writing...
.
Assay Master
He arrived in Calcutta on September 15, 1819 and at the age of twenty, joined the service of the East India CompanyEast India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
as Assay Master at the Government mint in Banares under Dr. Horace Hayman Wilson, the distinguished Sanscrit Scholar. He ultimately became assay-master at the main Government mint
India Government Mint, Kolkata
The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a building next to the Black Hole in the old fort - where the GPO stands today. It was called the Calcutta Mint and used to produce coins with the mint name. Murshidabad-Second Mint:The second Calcutta Mint was...
at Calcutta in 1832, succeeding Dr. Wilson, whom he likewise succeeded as secretary of the Asiatic Society
Asiatic Society
The Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William Jones on January 15, 1784 in a meeting presided over by Sir Robert Chambers, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the Fort William in Calcutta, then capital of the British Raj, to enhance and further the cause of Oriental research. At the time of...
. During James Prinsep's years in the mint he reformed weights and measures, introduced a uniform coinage and devised a balance so delicate as to indicate the three-thousandth part of a grain (.1944 mg).
Architect
Prinsep was indeed a many-sided genius. He studied architecture under the gifted but eccentric Augustus PuginAugustus Pugin
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was an English architect, designer, and theorist of design, now best remembered for his work in the Gothic Revival style, particularly churches and the Palace of Westminster. Pugin was the father of E. W...
. Though an eye-affection prevented him from initially following that profession, he was an excellent architect. His eyesight later being completely restored, James Prinsep was able to undertake many architectural and engineering tasks of importance in addition to his work at the Mints at Calcutta and Benares. While at Benares, he completed the new mint building according to his own plan and also built a church. He also rebuilt the famous minarets of Arungzeb and built a fine bridge over the Karamansa River. At Calcutta he was on the committee for municipal improvements and distinguished himself by improving the city drainage system by constructing a tunnel connecting the Hooghly River with the Sunderbans Mangrove forest.
Asiatic Society secretary
He succeeded to the Secretaryship of the Asiatic Society on H. H. Wilson's return to England and started his own journal in 1832: "The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal". Prinsep appealed to all those officers who had 'opportunities of forming collections in the upper provinces' for more coins and inscriptions. He was endowed with the rare capacity of instilling some of his own enthusiasm and ardour into others. Prinsep's appeal was enormously successful. He was in no time flooded with coins and inscriptions — materials which changed the very trend of the Indian antiquarian researches.Numismatist
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
n and Kushan
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
coins. Also all the indigenous Indian series coins
Indian coinage
Coinage of India, issued by Imperial dynasties and smaller middle kingdoms of India began during the 1st millennium BC, and consisted mainly of copper and silver coins in its initial stage. Scholars remain divided over the origins of Indian coinage...
, including the punch-marked ones — indeed the term was coined by Prinsep himself — the series of the autonomous republics, the Gupta series and so on. It was Prinsep who propounded the theory of the descent of the Gupta coins from the Kushan prototypes and this discussion also brought him to the question of the different stages in the technique of coin manufacture in India. He recognised the three stages represented by the
punch-marked
Hammered coinage
Hammered coinage is the most common form of coins produced since the invention of coins in the first millennium BC until the early modern period of ca...
, the die-struck
Milled coinage
In numismatics, the term milled coinage is used to describe coins which are produced by some form of machine, rather than by manually hammering coin blanks between two dies or casting coins from dies.-History:The earliest machine known for producing coins is the screw press, invented by Leonardo...
and the cast coins
Cast coinage
Cast coinage refers to coins made by pouring melted metal into a mold, i.e. casting. It has been used for regular coins, particularly in the Far East, but also on a smaller scale. The method differs from the current mode of coin production, which is done by striking coin blanks that have been cut...
.
Brahmi script philologist
But the crowning achievement of all his labours over the decade was the decipherment of the Brahmi scriptBrāhmī script
Brāhmī is the modern name given to the oldest members of the Brahmic family of scripts. The best-known Brāhmī inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka in north-central India, dated to the 3rd century BCE. These are traditionally considered to be early known examples of Brāhmī writing...
and the consequent clearing up of many of the mysteries of ancient Indian history. Thus more than forty years after 1788, Sir William Jones
William Jones (philologist)
Sir William Jones was an English philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages...
's hope was realised when Prinsep was able to produce the key to unlock all the remaining secrets of the Brahmi script. However, it is only fair to remember that much of the Brahmi script had already been deciphered before the final achievement of Prinsep. Prinsep followed clues provided by others regarding the decipherment of Kharosthi and after some mistaken readings he was finally able, before his departure, to find the values of nineteen single letters and one compound of Kharosthi as well. The idea of the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum also goes back to the time of Prinsep and to his idea.
Legacy
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
of softening of the brain, on April 22, 1840 .
Prinsep's Ghat, an archway on the bank of the Hooghly River, was erected to his memory by the citizens of Calcutta. It is now the venue of the Prinsep Ghat Cultural Festival, a unique cultural event organised by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage is an autonomous non-governmental Indian NGO that seeks to preserve Indian Art and Cultural heritage...
(INTACH) in collaboration with corporate sponsors.
His research and writing were not confined to India. Prinsep also delved into the early history of Afghanistan, producing several works that touched on archaeological finds in that country. After James Prinsep's death his brother Henry Thoby Prinsep published in 1844 a volume exploring the numismatist's work in Afghanistan.
External links
- Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...