Description
This leaf comes from the beginning of a manuscript about the life and nine past lives of the penultimate Jina (liberated being in the Jain religion), known as Parshva. Composed by a learned Jain monk in 1255, it opens with praises exalting the Jinas. This manuscript was produced not long after the text gained popularity, since the style of the painting accords with others made during the third quarter of the 13th century. The language of the text is Sanskrit with the incorporation of numerous elements drawn from regional vernaculars.
Provenance
(Sander L. Feldman, Washington, DC, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1971); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1971–)
Folio 2 from a Parshvanatha Charitra (Life and Stories of Lord Parshva) of Bhavadeva-suri: Monk preaching to a disciple with a lay audience (recto); Text (verso)
c. 1275–1300
Accession Number
1971.125
Medium
Gum tempera and ink on palm leaf
Dimensions
Overall: 6.7 x 32.4 cm (2 5/8 x 12 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund