Jina in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, June 2018

Jina, probably Shreyamsanatha (Primary Title)

Unknown (Artist)

Date: 1160

Culture: Indian

Category: Sculpture

Medium: white marble with traces of pigment

Collection: South Asian Art

Geography: probably vicinity of Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India

Dimensions: Overall: 23 5/8 × 19 1/8 × 10 in. (60.01 × 48.58 × 25.4 cm)

Object Number: 2000.98


Serenely seated in mediation, this figure is a Jina, or Tirthankara, one of the great teachers and exemplars of the Jain faith. An inscription on his elegantly decorated cushion seems to name him as Shreyamsanatha, the eleventh of the twenty-four Tirthankaras. It also gives the date the sculpture was made and names the merchant and clergyman who commissioned and installed the image. With a triangular torso, cylindrical limbs, and spherical head, the figure’s body is abstracted into almost pure geometrical shapes. Lotus medallions on his large hands and feet are auspicious marks indicating his exceptional status. A strip of cloth that emerges near his feet shows that he is not entirely nude, but meagerly clad in the manner of an ascetic. Traces of color indicate that the sculpture was one wholly or partially painted.


Text from: www.vmfa.museum/piction/6027262-177442064