South Asia, western India, ca. 15th century CE. A stunning Jain "Kalpasutra" manuscript page with four Tirthankaras bordering a Jain religious text on fine beige-hued paper and embellished with gilding (92%, equivalent to 22 karat), black ink, and pigments in hues of crimson and cobalt. A Tirthankara, literally meaning "ford-maker" in Sanskrit, is a spiritual teacher, savior, founder of the tirtha, and conqueror of the samsara (cycle of death and rebirth) who made a path for others to follow. Fit in a lovely frame, this page presents on one side with two ornamental vertical strips of black ink drawings painted with blue, gold, and red watercolors, each featuring a pair of Tirthankaras sitting cross-legged and flanked by two praying followers below two inward-facing elephants. Size: 10.125" W x 4.375" H (25.7 cm x 11.1 cm); Size with frame: 11" W (27.9 cm); 7.75" H (19.7 cm) Gold quality: 92%, equivalent to 22K.
An ornamental diamond motif adorns both vertical borders, as well as the central text panel. Alternatively, the other side of the page is embellished with longer horizontal lines of text flanked by vertical borders of red and gold. A central gold, blue, and red diamond motif sits at the center of this text as well.
According to an essay entitled "Jain Manuscript Painting" by John Guy (Department of Asian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art), "One of the identifying features of fifteenth-century Jain painting is the increasingly lavish use of applied gold. A unique illustrated Kalpasutra manuscript from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, dated ca. 1465, displays a restrained and highly effective use of gold and an intense blue sourced from lapis lazuli (1992.359). The use of both these colors had resulted from an awareness of Persian painting, which had become accessible through sultanate connections. The manuscript to which this folio belongs also introduces clear evidence that Jain patronage had extended by this time beyond Gujarat and Rajasthan into Central and Northern India. While retaining the broad conventions of the western Indian style, it displays a bold approach to color and rich ornamentation that connects the archaic western style with the emerging North Indian schools, which gained their fullest expression in the studio workshops of Delhi and surrounding regions. This legacy is seen in the court style of Malwa and other schools of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries."
Provenance: private New Jersey, USA collection
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#161183
Condition
Page is from a larger manuscript. Repair to one end of paper. Some minute perforations on two Tirthankaras. Expected light staining and wrinkling commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive remaining pigments.