126-127 / 176
127
62
JAIN ALTARPIECE
GUJARAT OR RAJASTHAN, DATED VS 1159 = 1095 AD
Inscribed in Nagari on the reverse
Bronze
5.75 in (14.7 cm) high
Rs 7,00,000 ‒ 9,00,000
$ 10,450 - 13,435
NON‒EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY
PROVENANCE
Property of a Distinguished Family Collection
The seated yogic posture of the
jina
dominates most Jain iconography.
One of the 24
jinas
, the figure is
shown seated in deep meditation
and has a nimbus around his head in
the form of a lotus. At the bottom on
the left and right corners are a
yaksha
and
yakshi
, who served as guardians.
This carries over from an earlier
stylistic representation in which only
two attendants were shown.
J
ainism is one of India’s oldest religions, along
with Hinduism and Buddhism. Its ultimate
aim is emancipation from the endless cycle
of reincarnations through the path of non‒violence.
“The Jains believe in a group of twenty‒four Jinas;
each is also known as a
tirthankara
,
or “forder,” who
fords the gulf between samsara, or the phenomenal
world, and liberation.” (Pratapaditya Pal ed.,
The
Peaceful Liberators: Jain Art from India
, Los Angeles:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art and New York:
Thames and Hudson Inc., 1994, p. 14) There are
two orders in Jainism: Svetambaras, who are clad
in the colour white, and the Digambaras, who are
clad by the sky. “According to the Digambaras all
possessions, by fostering attachment to the world,
are a hindrance to liberation.” (Pal, p. 15) Jainism
stresses the importance of ascetic practices and
focuses more deeply on meditation and austerity
than Buddhism. Jain art reflects this philosophy
of non‒violence and renunciation, as seen in lots
62‒64.