Finely carved in high relief with three nude Jinas standing side by side in kayostarga, each on a rectangular plinth with small figures of worshippers and vyalas, the central Jina flanked by two small figures, the top carved with a seated deity flanked by elephants.

Provenance: From the collection of Jean-Marc Andral, acquired 1990 in Belgium. A copy of a provenance statement, written and signed by Jean-Marc Andral, dated 10 December 2022, accompanies this lot. Jean-Marc Andral is a Belgian manager based in Brussels and active in the healthcare industry for over 25 years.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, minor losses, nicks and scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, structural cracks, encrustations.

Dimensions: Height 51 cm (excl. stand) and 52 cm (incl. stand)

With a modern metal stand.

Jinas are depicted in only two poses: Kayostarga, standing, or dhyani, seated in meditation, and due to the identical poses and expressions they are distinguished mainly by their vahanas, or vehicles, appearing at the feet of the figures or carved on to the pedestals. In the present example, an exact identification of the Jina is not possible. However, Mahavira is the most commonly represented of the tirthankaras in the kayostarga attitude, and therefore an attribution seems appropriate. Another reasonable attribution would be the second tirthankara, Ajitanatha, whose emblem is the elephant, two of which are carved at the top of this stele.

The earliest extant Jain images date to the first century C.E. and were created in the area around Mathura, the center of much religious activity. Jainism is India’s third great ancient religion and was founded contemporaneously with Buddhism, from which it differed by its advocating the attainment of a spiritual life through asceticism. This may account for the conventional depiction of tirthankaras in a rigid frontal pose. The term Jina, meaning “Conqueror” or “Victor of over Life” is applied to one who, like the Buddha, has attained perfect knowledge. Tirthankara meaning “He who has crossed the Ford” of rebirth and attained perfect freedom, is equivalent to Jina. In many respects, and more particularly in the seated poses, the Jina figure has many parallels to the Buddha image with the exception that, among the Digambara sect of Jains, the figure is always nude and the chest bears the srivasta.

The nudity of Jain saints was a practice of both asceticism and their belief in non-possession, dating back to the days of Mahavira. However, a schism arose in around 79 C.E., extensively recorded in literature, about what constitutes total renunciation. At the time, Jain monks separated into rival factions, the Digambaras “clothed with the sky” or nude and the Svetambaras, “clothed with white”, who partially clad themselves with white cloth. According to inscriptions the Svetambaras worshipped the nude image without objection and for both sects the Jinas and the saint Bahubali are represented naked while all other deities are clothed and even ornamented.

The present sculpture symbolizes mankind disregarding the material world and his animal nature. The figure is a human being transformed into a god-like state and the worship of it is not a two-way interaction but a meditation, where the deity is not expected to grant favors but rather to exemplify a state of being attainable by all.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related marble stele of Ajitanatha and his divine assembly, dated 1062, 149.9 cm high, in the Norton Simon Museum, accession number M.1998.1.S.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Paris, 7 June 2011, lot 353
Price: EUR 46,600 or approx. EUR 55,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine sandstone figure of a Jain tirthankara, India, Rajasthan or Gujarat, 11^th century
Expert remark: Note the significantly larger size (100 cm)