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Jain Altarpiece
Title:Jain Altarpiece
Artist:Artist Unknown
Date:1579
Creation Place:Asia, India, Gujarat or Rajasthan, Gujarat or Rajasthan
Credit Line:The Helen Jones Fund for Asian Art
Accession Number:2000.30
While the identity of the central Jina figure of this portable altarpiece is uncertain, it is surrounded by twenty-three smaller Jinas suggesting the artist has depicted all twenty-four Jinas or tirthankaras of the Jain pantheon. Excepting the two standing figures, all the Jinas are shown wearing dhoti seated crosslegged in the dyanamudra (pose of contemplation). Each has a silver srivatsa emblem on its upper body. The central Jina sits on a cushioned lion throne which also depicts small recumbent deer flanking a dharmachakra, a symbol which came to be associated with all Jinas. Portable shrines of this size were usually commissioned by the Jain laity and presented to their temples. This altarpiece bears a lengthy inscription on its back identifying the donors who commissioned it in 1579.