Matthew Thomas
Senior Specialist
Lot 74
Four illustrated leaves from a Jain Kalakacaryakatha manuscript Western India, circa 1400-50(6)
30 March 2021, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£2,000 - £3,000
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Four illustrated leaves from a Jain Kalakacaryakatha manuscript
Western India, circa 1400-50
Western India, circa 1400-50
Jain Prakrit manuscript on paper, seven lines to the page in nagari script in black ink, red imitation pothi hole in centre, two paintings in gouache and gold, 110 x 255 mm.; together with B) another unillustrated leaf from a similar early Kalakacaryakatha manuscript, Western India, 1400-50, eleven lines of text, 103 x 270 mm.; and C) a single leaf from a Jain illustrated manuscript, a book of hymns in praise of the great teachers, Western India, late 17th Century, 13 lines of text, illustrations depicting a seated jina, the Great Teacher Bahusvami recto and verso
106 x 250 mm.(6)
106 x 250 mm.(6)
Footnotes
The manuscript from which these four leaves come is notable for its early date and for the quality of its illustrations, which are done in gold on a red ground (with none of the use of blue, which came later). This palette, and the plain red dot in the centre of the leaf (which alludes to the pothi holes by means of which earlier manuscripts were bound), are indicators of its early date.
The Kalakacaryakatha tells the story of the Jain monk, Kalaka, who invited an army of Saka warriors (also known as Scythian) in order to rescue his sister, who had been captured by King Gardhabilla. Texts were normally appended to the end of manuscripts of the Kalpasutra: however, the numeral 5 which appears on one of the leaves indicates that these leaves derive from an independent Kalakacaryakatha manuscript. The illustrations depict Indra in two forms, as himself and as an ascetic, paying homage to Kalaka. Another depicts an army besieging the city of Ujjain in Malwa, which had been captured by King Gardhabilla, and in the process rescuing Kalaka's sister.