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Cosmological Painting

1844 (made)
Place of origin
Deshnok (made)

Cosmological painting showing concentric continents separated by sea, with script and figures. Substantial sections missing especially in centre and corners.

Object details

Categories
Jain
Paintings
Jain
Religion
India Museum
Object type
Cosmological painting
Materials and techniques
Painting on cotton
Brief description
Adhaidvipa, Jain cosmological painting showing two and half continents separated by oceans and enclosed by a mountain range; Deshnok, Rajasthan, 1844
Physical description
Cosmological painting showing concentric continents separated by sea, with script and figures. Substantial sections missing especially in centre and corners.
Dimensions
  • Height: 153cm
  • Width: 144.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
(Numerous inscriptions in Rajasthani, Devanagari script, including the date 1844, the city Deshnok (near Bikaner, Rajasthan) and the branch of Jain monks among whom it was produced.)
Gallery label
(14/05/2010)
ABOVE RIGHT: JAIN PAINTING OF THE MORTAL REALMS OF THE UNIVERSE


Painting on cotton
Deshnok, Rajasthan, dated 1844

6565(IS)

In the Jain conception of the universe, between the heavens above and hells below is the
middle world where mortals dwell, the only part of the universe from which the soul can
achieve liberation. Humans inhabit two and a half continents, separated by oceans and
concentrically arranged around Mount Meru, as far as a chain of mountains on the outer
continent. The central disc is Jambudvipa, the continent of the rose-apple tree.
Object history
Transferred to the South Kensington Museum from the India Museum in 1879
Subjects depicted
World
Oceans
Cities
Bibliographic references
  • Barnard, N. and Wheeler, M. 'Jain Manuscript Pages and Paintings Display at the V&A. 14 May 2010 to 31 December 2012', Jaina Studies: Newsletter of the Centre of Jaina Studies, Issue 6, March 2011, pp. 48-50.
  • Barnard, Nick, Arts of Asia, Vol. no. 46, no 1, "The Jain Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum". January-February 2016 p. 103, no. 19
  • Jaina painting and manuscript culture : in memory of Paolo Pianarosa / [edited by] Julia A.B. Hegewald. Number: 9783868931747 (hd.bd.), 3868931740 (hd.bd.) p. 86, pl. 4.1
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
6565(IS)

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Record createdMarch 12, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O199461/cosmological-painting/
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