Jain stele with a couple and two children

18 000,00

Pink sandstone
North of India
9th – 11th century
H. 69 cm

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Description

The central section depicts a man and woman seated side by side in lalitāsana, adorned with jewelry and headdresses, and each holding a child on their left leg. They are depicted under a tree, whose leaves compose the upper register, where another figure is depicted seated in padmāsana, probably one of the twenty-four Jina. A frieze of seated figures adorns the lower section. Other representations of family portraits of this type are found in Jain statuary. They are sometimes seen as portraits of the relatives of the various Jina, or as Yakṣa or nature spirits.

Comparable example : PAL P., The peaceful Liberators, Jain Art from India, Thames and Hudsons / Los Angeles County Museum of Art p. 174, #58. Another sculpture with comparable iconography is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (Inv. n°308-1921).

Provenance: Private collection, Munich, late 1970s.