Important Notice

GUJARAT OR RAJASTHAN, DATED VS 1159 = 1095 AD
Inscribed in Nagari on the reverse
Bronze
5.75 in (14.7 cm) high

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Property of a Distinguished Family Collection

Jainism 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.

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.

GUJARAT OR RAJASTHAN, DATED VS 1159 = 1095 AD
Inscribed in Nagari on the reverse
Bronze
5.75 in (14.7 cm) high

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Property of a Distinguished Family Collection

Jainism 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.

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.