Accession Number
1981/2.162

Title
The Sixth Night Vigil from a Kalpasutra manuscript (fol. no. 38v), depicting two pairs of queens

Artist(s)
Indian

Artist Nationality
Indian (South Asian)

Object Creation Date
1478

Medium & Support
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Dimensions
4 3/8 in x 10 3/8 in (11.1 cm x 26.4 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink in memory of Morris Foster

Label copy
March 28, 2009
This page from a Kalpasutra manuscript represents a scene in the life of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last of the Jinas (teachers in the Jain faith) of this epoch. Six days after his birth, the women of the palace stayed awake all night to attend his mother. The composition is divided into two registers, to allow the artist to suggest large numbers of women within the narrow space allotted for an illustration. The infant Mahavira is seen in his mother’s arms, at the upper left.
In Kalpasutra paintings, the Jinas and high monks are shown frontally, but other figures are shown in a three-quarter pose. To portray a face in a three-quarter view, which is a very demanding task, the artists flesh out a profile slightly and allow the further eye to project. The “further eye” convention would later disappear, but divided compositions and the boldly colored, flat backgrounds were carried over into the pre-Mughal Rajput style.
(South and Southeast Asia Gallery Rotation, Spring 2009)

Subject matter
This page from a Kalpasutra manuscript represents a scene in the life of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last of the jinas of this epoch. Six days after his birth, the women of the palace stayed awake all night to attend his mother. The composition is divided into two registers, to allow the artist to suggest large numbers of women within the narrow space allotted for an illustration. The infant Mahavira is seen in his mother’s arms, at the upper left.

Physical Description
A scene in the life of Mahavira. The composition is designated a narrow strip near the left, while the rest of the page is used for text and red circles. The illustration is divided into two registers, with depictions of two women in each. The infant Mahavira is seen in his mother’s arms, at the upper left.

Primary Object Classification
Unbound Work

Primary Object Type
leaf

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
calligraphy (process)
painting (coating)