Vishnu nicolo seal

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.^[1] Nicolo is an abbreviation of the Italian onicolo, meaning "little onyx", a type of stone, often made of different layers in various shades of blue, used for intagli.^[2]

Vishnu nicolo seal
Cast of the seal in the British Museum.
Material	Agate (nicolo)
Created	4th century CE
Discovered	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 34°N 71.32°E / 34; 71.32
Present location	British Museum, London
Registration	1892,1103.98
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The seal depicts a four-armed deity, probably Vishnu or Vāsudeva,^[3] being prayed by a royal devotee. The deity holds Vishnu's classical attributes: the gada club, the chakra discus, the wheel and the lotus.^[4][5][1] There is a two-line inscription and a monogram by the worshipper's feet.^[1]

The British Museum describes the inscription as "Bactrian", transliterating it: "(1) saso reo iastoo (2) algo", translated as: "Sas-re(w) the leader of worship (?)".^[1]

It was found in what was then the North-West Frontier Province of British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.^[1]

Interpretations

The seal was first reported by Alexander Cunningham in The Numismatic Chronicle of 1893.^[4][6] Cunningham, saw in the devotee the Kushan emperor Huvishka, who reigned about 140-180 BC, based on the similarity of the headdress.^[5]

More recently Roman Ghirshman proposed that the text on the seal was in the Kushan script and mentions three major Hindu gods:

"Miarka Yasna Oezo" meaning:
"Mihira, Vishnu, Shiva"

— Text of the Nicolo seal.^[6][7]

A more recent interpretation suggests the divinity is Vāsudeva, an early deity whose attributes were later reused in the iconography of Vishnu with the addition of an aureole.^[3][8]

This recent research also identified the devotee, not with Huvishka, but with a Huna king.^[6][5] The devotee could also be a Kushano-Sasanian or a Kidarite prince.^[9]

The seal also suggest that a composite cult of the three deities Surya (another name for Mihira, meaning "Sun"), Vishnu and Shiva was current in India circa 500 CE.^[6] However, the British Museum in 2019 gives a different reading of the inscription.^[1]

Inscription of the Vishnu Nicolo Seal^{According to British Museum}

Line	Original (Greco-Bactrian script)	Transliteration	English translation
1	σασο ρηο ιαþτoo	saso reo iastoo	"Sas-re(w) the leader of worship (?)"
2	αλγo	algo

• 
  Vishnu, with similar attributes, Udayagiri Caves (c. 5th century).
• 
  The devotee in the Vishnu Nicolo Seal (detail).
• 
  Vishnu Nicolo Seal, as first reported by Alexander Cunningham in 1893.