Northern Black Polished Ware - Lanka
Ruhuna - Life - Srivasta - Disk

A Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) svastika and elephant symbols on either side of disk. The NBPW ceramic style known developed from circa 700 to 300 B.C., alongside the formation of regional states and the consolidation of imperial power in Magadha. It was found in Akurugoda in area of Tissamaharama.

SPECIFICATIONS
MaterialPottery
TypePolished
Diameter17.0 mm
Thickness3.4 mm
Weight1.35 gms
ShapeCircular
Edgesmooth
DieAxis45°
 ruhuna_svastika_elephant_disk_obverse ruhuna_svastika_elephant_disk_reverse
Unpublished
Obverse : A crude drawing of an elephant bottom center of disk.
Reverse : Svastika symbol rotating right (clockwise) at center of disk.

This Black Disk looks to me to be like polished slate. In the 1999 catalog by Osmund Bopearachchi and Rajah Wickramasinhe titled Ruhuna. An Ancient Civilization Re-visited , they are listed under Miscellaneous Objects as Black rouletted Ware (N.1-N.6). It was obtained from the same collector who provided most of the items for that book.

I am uncertain of this item. Particularly the svastika looks as it has been drawn AFTER the block polished surface has worn. The elephant crude. Is it a recent engraving on a blank otherwise uninteresting NBPW disk ?

The item was scanned at 600 dpi and displayed at 250 dpi. It was obtained in 2003 May from Mr A. Ratnayaka a collector in Katharagama, Lanka.