Important Notice

GUJARAT, DATED VS 1587 = 1531 CE
Inscribed and dated at the base on all sides
Brass
7.5 in (19.3 cm) high

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Property from a Distinguished Family Collection


Jainism is based on a philosophy of 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 traverses 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 asceticism and renunciation, as seen in the present lot.

In this lot, four Jinas are standing on each side of the four-sided sculpture. This composition, also known as the chaumukha, symbolically expresses the notion of omnipresence and divinity. This is similar to the four-faced Shivalinga, the four manifest aspects of Vaikuntha Vishnu, and the Buddhist stupa depicting four celestial Buddhas on each side.

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