Celestial Performers: Folios from a Kalpasutra Manuscript

ca. 1490

Not on view

In Jain cosmology, Shakra’s heaven is a blissful place where the jinas reside for eternity. It is populated by celestial dancers, seen here as beautiful maidens sensuously poised in the text margins. These scenes are echoed in the textual descriptions of the Kalpasutra celebrating Mahavira. The manuscript displays an innovative use of red, blue, and green marginal designs that anticipates sixteenth-century styles and lavish gold script on a red ground.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Celestial Performers: Folios from a Kalpasutra Manuscript
Date: ca. 1490
Culture: India (Gujarat)
Medium: Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions: Overall: 4 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (11.4 x 29.2 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchase, Margery and Harry Kahn Gift, 1977
Object Number: 1977.41
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Celestial Performers: Folios from a Kalpasutra Manuscript, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, India (Gujarat) — Celestial Performers: Folios from a Kalpasutra Manuscript
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