Vishnu Nicolo Seal (original) (raw)

The Vishnu Nicolo Seal is a "finely engraved" oval agate seal (1.4 inches by 1.05 inch) from the Gandhara region, dated to the 4th century CE. Since 1892 it has been in the British Museum. The seal depicts a four-armed deity, probably Vishnu or Vāsudeva, being prayed by a royal devotee. The deity holds Vishnu's classical attributes: the gada club, the chakra discus, the wheel and the lotus. There is a two-line inscription and a monogram by the worshipper's feet. It was found in what was then the North-West Frontier Province of British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.