If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
The horizontal folio from a Kalpasutra manuscript consists of seven lines of text to the left and center broken by a squarish gold symbol framed in a red line and cusped blue lines. Gold diamond shapes framed in red are at the sides, with a vertical red line between the one on the left and the text. Between the text and the right diamond shape there is a painting consisting of three registers of figures against a red ground. The top row depicts three laymen wearing crowns, the middle two monks and a nun and the bottom row three nuns.
Subject Matter
Some of the earliest Indian paintings on paper are found in manuscripts of the Kalpasutra, a popular text that recounts the lives the jinas or “spiritual victors” of the Jaina religion. The paper was cut into horizontal pages, following a long tradition of palm-leaf manuscripts. In paper as in earlier palm leaf books, loose-leaf pages were flipped, bottom to top, as one read them; the verso (back or reverse side) of one folio would be seen with the recto (front side) of the following page.
Here monks and nuns sit in rows offering homage to one of the jinas or a teacher, who probably was depicted on the preceding folio. The convention of depicting the faces in profile with a projecting “further eye” is common in early painting throughout northern India. It is only in the early sixteenth century that this “further eye” disappears. This manuscript page is the earliest painting in the exhibition.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
Indian book arts originated in the form of paintings on palm leaves secured between wooden covers. Leaves were pierced in one or two places to allow a cord to be threaded through and bound around the covers. Early manuscripts made from paper, such as this one, preserved the horizontal shape of palm leaf manuscripts but increasingly expanded in format to provide a taller, less restrictive surface. The ubiquitous red ground of earlier palm-leaf manuscript paintings remains, but the chromatic range is extended by the introduction of gold and ultramarine. Golden orbs mimic the perforation holes traditionally provided for the binding cord, though no holes have been made. Here, they are purely decorative, referencing the conventions of a sacrosanct format. Such continuity is particularly appropriate for this canonical text, a copy of the Kalpasutra (Book of Ritual), which provides an extended biography of Mahavira and establishes his historical position as the twenty-fourth tirthankara.
(Label for UMMA South and Southeast Asia Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
The two-armed figure dances with his right leg raised and wrapped around a club. His left arm crosses his body and rests above the club and his right hand is raised almost to his ear. Tassels hang from him hips and under his armpits adding a great sense of movement to the whole figure. Multi-hooded snakes are at the base and also around the bottom of the club. He wears much of jewelry including bracelets, anklets, necklaces with should loops and an elaborate belt. His stomach protrudes over the belt. He also has large earrings and a jewel encrusted crown. His eyes bulge out and his mouth is open showing his teeth. He is a pair with 1980/2.291.
Subject Matter
Dvarapala means the guardian of a door and were usually produced in pairs, meant to flank the entrance to a temple or to a shrine. The horrific nature of the figure implies that this and its mate were made for a Shaiva temple, one dedicated to the god Shiva.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
Sculpted figures envelop the walls of the Hindu temple, representing a singular cosmological reality. This animated guardian figure was displayed alongside gods, celestial musicians, semi-divine loving couples, and other protective divinities that support the main deity within the temple’s sanctum. This guardian figure and its mate (exhibited to the right) stood at either side of the temple entrance, while other dvarapala (protectors of the directions) occupied buttresses on the temple’s corners, defending it against the chaos outside.
(Label for UMMA South and Southeast Asia Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
In this intensely lyrical painting from Bundelkhand in Central India, the great river is shown tumbling from the night sky. Ascetics sit cross-legged on the mountainside, offering their austerities to Shiva, while women come to venerate Ganga. The river teems with life—crocodiles, turtles, fish, and birds—while lions, leopards, jackals, monkeys, and rabbits cavort on its banks.
Subject Matter
According to an ancient legend, the goddess Ganga (the personification of the River Ganges) once dwelt in heaven, and the earth suffered from drought. Through the prayers of Bhagiratha, the gods agreed to allow Ganga to descend to earth, but that brought about another crisis: if Ganga were to fall unimpeded, the force of the mighty river could destroy the earth. Bhagiratha then performed penances to seek the aid of the powerful Hindu god Shiva, who responded by catching Ganga in his densely matted locks of hair to break her fall.
Label Copy
According to an ancient legend, the goddess Ganga (the personification of the River Ganges) once dwelt in heaven, and the earth suffered from drought. Through the prayers of Bhagiratha, the gods agreed to allow Ganga to descend to earth, but that brought about another crisis: if Ganga were to fall unimpeded, the force of the mighty river could destroy the earth. Bhagiratha then performed penances to seek the aid of the powerful Hindu god Shiva, who responded by catching Ganga in his densely matted locks of hair to break her fall.
In this intensely lyrical painting from Bundelkhand in Central India, the great river is shown tumbling from the night sky. Ascetics sit cross-legged on the mountainside, offering their austerities to Shiva, while women come to venerate Ganga. The river teems with life—crocodiles, turtles, fish, and birds—while lions, leopards, jackals, monkeys, and rabbits cavort on its banks. It is as if Ganga has restored life to the entire world.
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art," 12/12/03-2/22/04.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Signed, l.r.c.: v.Prenner deli et Incidet Inscription, u.l.: ALT:56. LAT:74. UNC: / plus 12 lines of verse, then: Ita canit / IOANNES GEORGIUS / SCHWANDTER / Musophilus.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
The richly dressed sculpture in the central niche is Shri Nathaji, an alternative name for Krishna, and the principal deity of the Vallabha Sampraday sect, to which the Kotah ruling family belonged. A priest is shown performing the lamp-waving ceremony before Shri Nathaji. At right is a small costumed sculpture of Krishna playing the flute.
Subject Matter
This painting was once part of a large set documenting liturgical practices at the Kotah royal palace in Rajasthan.
The Kotah royal house developed a detailed calendar of rituals to be performed in the presence of Shri Nathaji, who would be dressed in different costumes depending on the season and occasion. At least two sets of paintings were commissioned to document these rituals.
Label Copy
This painting was once part of a large set documenting liturgical practices at the Kotah royal palace in Rajasthan. The richly dressed sculpture in the central niche is Shri Nathaji, an alternative name for Krishna, and the principal deity of the Vallabha Sampraday sect, to which the Kotah ruling family belonged. A priest is shown performing the lamp-waving ceremony before Shri Nathaji. At right is a small costumed sculpture of Krishna playing the flute.
The Kotah royal house developed a detailed calendar of rituals to be performed in the presence of Shri Nathaji, who would be dressed in different costumes depending on the season and occasion. At least two sets of paintings were commissioned to document these rituals.
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art" at UMMA, 12/12/03–2/22/04.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
This is one of a pair of Javanese bells. A talon-like vajra sits atop the bronze handle. Lotus petals decorate the base, and the faces encircling the the bell above them depict Prajnaparamita, the bodhisattva aspect of “Perfection of Wisdom.”
Subject Matter
The vajra is a Buddhist symbol representing a thunderbolt and the diamond. The thunderbolt is meant to recall the lightning strike experience of enlightenment the historical Buddha experienced while meditating under a bodhi tree, while the diamond indicates indestructibility.
Combined with a bell, symbolic of the womb, the vajra bell signifies the indestructible rooting out of ignorance. The bell, with its hollow form, symbolizes wisdom acknowledging emptiness, while the clapper vocalizes the very sound of emptiness.
Some Buddhist deities are depicted holding vajra in one hand and bell in the other, indicating a union of the forces of compassion (vajra) and wisdom (bell), as well as male and female. The five prongs of the vajra remind the practitioner of the five wisdoms: wisdom of individuality, mirror-like wisdom, reality wisdom, wisdom of equanimity, and all-accomplishing wisdom.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
The study for the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple is part of a mural cycle decorating the neo-Gothic church of Notre-Dame d'Oloron in southwestern France. The cycle, "The Mysteries of the Rosarie" were installed in 1895-1896. The cycle includes: St. John the Baptist; the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple; the Death of St. Joseph; the Betrothal of the Virgin; Saint Anne; Saint Joachim; the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple; Saint Catherine; Saint Dominic; the Resurrection; the Temptation in the Garden; the Holy Family.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Gilded brass (or gilded copper alloy) standing Buddha on lotus pedestal with both hands raised in abhaya mudra.
Subject Matter
Buddha in intricate costume standing on a lotus pedestal. Such elaborate decoration has come to characterize Thai Buddhist imagery of the 19th and 20th centuries. Hands form double abhaya mudra (the gesture of reassurance), called “calming the ocean” by Thais.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Inscribed in graphite on front cover, u.r corner: "18h"; and vertically, below: "B413" Many of the prints are inscribed with a signature (Bonfils) and title in the negative.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
