Jina and a devotee from a Digambara Jain manuscript / Artist Unknown, India
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1975/2.174
- Title
- Jina and a devotee from a Digambara Jain manuscript
- Artist
- Artist Unknown, India
- Artist Nationality
- Indian
- Medium and Support
- ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
- Object Creation Date
- circa 18th century
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- India (nation)
- Rajasthan (state)
- Sirohi (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- India (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Rajasthan (state)
- Creation Place 4
- Sirohi (inhabited place)
- Style/Group/Movement
- Sirohi, Jain mss.
- Dimensions
- 28.9 cm x 17.8 cm (11 3/8 in. x 7 in.)
- Century
- 18th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- album leaf
- Secondary Object Classification
- Books and Folios
- Secondary Object Type
- folio
- Physical Description
- Nude (Jina, center) and a devotees (nude on left, and other clothed figures) depicted in a folio of a Jain manuscript.
- The image contains trees, lotus flowers and dark clouds. The the colors are composed of vivid reds, browns, yellows, greens and blues. The image is surrounded by a red and green pattereed border which resembles a chain.
- Subject Matter
- In the Jain religion, the practices surrounding book production reflects the integral relationship among the laity, monastic community, and the Jina, or enlightened Jain teacher. It was customary for a lay donor to commission a copy of a text for presentation to his spiritual teacher and ultimately to the temple library; this fulfilled/thus fulfilling the lay obligation of charity. Over the centuries, monastic libraries received great quantities of texts, which were employed in the instruction of monks and nuns, who were themselves discouraged from practicing the art of painting: one text expressly warns of the power of painting to arouse sensual feelings. Beholding a book, however, was believed to help the individual achieve the proper mental state for spiritual guidance.
- These manuscript illustrations are from a famous Jain hymn. In the one on the left we see the Jina [or enlightened Jain teacher] standing on a lotus. The monk Manatunga stands to his side, his hands folded in worship, while two gods offer more lotuses. The hymn verse associated with this illustration explains that wherever the Jina steps, the gods offer lotuses for him to tread on. In the illustration on the right, flowers surround the central Jina; they are dropped by/come from two gods seated in celestial vimanas or floating palaces at the top of the painting. The related verse tells us that these flowers are from/are those of the heavenly wishing trees and are showered onto the Jina in worship.
- Primary Keywords
- deity
- figures (representations)
- flowers (plants)
- kneeling
- lotus
- nudes
- standing
- trees
- Secondary Keywords
- buildings and the land
- descriptors
- design elements
- herbaceous plants
- landscapes (environments)
- motifs
- natural landscapes
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by state or condition
- physical activities
- physical activities by general context
- plant-derived motifs
- plants
- settlements and landscapes
- vegetation and vegetation components
- vegetation components
- visual works
- visual works by subject type
- woody plants
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 825 x 1321
- File Size
- 119 KB
- Record
- 1975/2.174
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1975-sl-2.174/1975_2.174.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1975-SL-2.174:1975_2.174.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Jina and a devotee from a Digambara Jain manuscript; Artist Unknown, India." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1975-sl-2.174/1975_2.174.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 16, 2024.
