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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1951.142.2
People
Unknown Artist
Title
Seated Devas, illustrated folio from a Jain religious manuscript (painting with text, recto and verso)
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
16th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Gujarat
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/173927

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
10.9 x 25.9 cm (4 5/16 x 10 3/16 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Edward W. Forbes
Accession Year
1951
Object Number
1951.142.2
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The recto and verso sides of this folio feature lines of prose written in in the Prakrit language in Devanagari script and black ink. The blank square at the center of the page contains a large red spot, a decorative reminder of the hole found in earlier pal-leaf manuscripts. A cord was inserted through the hole and used to string together the folios of a single manuscript. On the recto side of the folio is a painting on the right featuring six gold figures seated within niches. The verso side of the folio features a painting that can be divided into the three sections. The top and bottom of these sections depict two seated, golden figures separated by a column. The middle shows a seated golden figure flanked by attendants. The seated figures bear halos made of petals. They represent heavenly beings (devas) in Jain cosmology.

Exhibition History

  • Where Traditions Meet: Painting in India from the 15th-17th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/05/2003 - 12/07/2003

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu