Authors:
Richard Salomon Department of Asian Languages & Literature, University of Washington, USA

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Nicolas Revire Department of Arts of Asia, The Art Institute of Chicago, USA

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Inscriptions in the highly calligraphic and still undeciphered śaṅkhalipi or ‘shell script’ have been found by the hundreds in most parts of India except the far south, typically in conjunction with sites and monuments dating from around the Gupta period and succeeding centuries. To date, four specimens have also been discovered in the Indonesian archipelago, in West Java and West Kalimantan (Borneo). Another specimen of śaṅkhalipi inscription, engraved on a pillar and exceptionally ornate, was recently discovered in Thailand at the site of Si Thep, a moated early settlement in Phetchabun Province. The article reviews the historical and cultural contexts of shell-script inscriptions in India and discusses the significance of this remarkable first specimen found in mainland Southeast Asia.

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  • István VÁSÁRY(Eötvös Loránd University)
  • Yutaka YOSHIDA (Kyoto University)
  • Peter ZIEME (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities)

 

Dr. Gábor Kósa
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Eötvös Loránd University
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Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
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