Artwork
Kalpa-sutra Manuscript with 24 Miniatures: Siddhartha Hears the Recitation of Trisala's Dreams
Kalpa-sutra Manuscript with 24 Miniatures: Siddhartha Hears the Recitation of Trisala's Dreams is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1494 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This miniature painting illustrates a scene from a Kalpa-sutra manuscript, a significant Jain scripture.
About this work
Overview
This miniature painting illustrates a scene from a Kalpa-sutra manuscript, a significant Jain scripture. It depicts a specific narrative moment, integrated directly into a larger block of text. The artwork is characterized by its vibrant palette and intricate details, typical of illuminated manuscripts from the period, serving to visually enhance the sacred narrative it accompanies.
Subject & Meaning
The scene portrays Siddhartha, the future Mahavira, listening intently as another figure recounts the prophetic dreams of his mother, Trisala. These twelve auspicious dreams, experienced before his birth, foretold his greatness and served as a crucial narrative element in the life story of the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, central to Jain theology and belief.
Technique & Style
The background is densely filled with rich reds, blues, and golds, incorporating symbolic motifs such as a wheel and a sun-like circular design.
Executed as a small, vivid illustration, the painting features two figures rendered with distinct outlines and expressions. The background is densely filled with rich reds, blues, and golds, incorporating symbolic motifs such as a wheel and a sun-like circular design. This miniature is seamlessly embedded within the manuscript's text, which is written in a script highlighted with red accents, demonstrating the intricate craft of manuscript illumination.
Artist & collection
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Text, Folio 23 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra
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Mahavira's Initiation Tonsure, Folio 37 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra
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Kalpa-sutra manuscript with 24 illuminations