ARTS OF INDIA

84
A JAIN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE
SHRIPALARASA: A GIANT DEMON
ATTACKS A SHIP
NORTH WEST INDIA, CIRCA 1800
Opaque pigments on cotton, the large ship
attacked by a blue demon brandishing a sword and
wearing a necklace of severed heads, numerous
fgures seated within large structures at the ship’s
bow and stern, fsh and nautical beasts in the sea
below, the top with fgures in carriages, with foral
borders, laid down on green panel
33º x 38Ωin. (84.5 x 97.8cm.)
£4,000-6,000 $5,700-8,500
€5,000-7,500
Our textile depicts the moment when the ship
of Prince Sripala is attacked by a demon during
his long journey in search of trade and riches in
faraway lands. For a comparable textile panel
with similar iconography see P. Pal, The Peaceful
Liberators, Jain Art from India, Thames and
Hudson and LACMA, 1994.
85
A VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN TEMPLES OF
JUNAGARH
PROBABLY RAJASTHAN OR GUJARAT,
NORTH INDIA, SECOND HALF 19TH/EARLY
20TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments on cotton, the ground painted
with an overview of a holy site within a lush
mountainous landscape, a city on a river bank
and ritual ablution basins in forest clearings
dominated by seven peaks, each topped with a
shrine, identifed as Junagarh in devanagari script
on the border
46¿ x 47√in. (117 x 121cm.)
£4,000-6,000 $5,700-8,500
€5,000-7,5000
Girnar is a group of mountains in the Junagarh
district of Gujarat, sacred to both Hindus and
Jains. It is home to a large number of Jain
temples, the largest of which is the Neminath
temple. A large map of pilgrim sites along the
Ganges valley used similar conventions to depict
mountains, with rounded pink boulders and was
probably made in Rajasthan (sold at Christie’s
South Kensington, 12 June 2014, lot 196). The
depiction of the city is typical of Jaipur cityscapes
of the mid 19th century (see for instance four
Jaipur illustrations ofered at Christie’s South
Kensington, 11 October 2013, lot 565).
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