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CHAPTER 321
WOOD-CARVINGS
and has been dated to the sixteenth century. The National Museum doorframe, however, can be dated to the eighteenth century, as its execution of floral patterns and figures is much bolder and lacks the fine quality of the Baroda Museum specimen,
The Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Bombay, has yet another wooden mand apa of a house-shrine' (plate 293). Standing on a double-stepped platform, 188 cm. long, 156 cm. wide and 39 cm. high, the mandapa is supported by four elaborately-decorated and slighly-recessed pillars which were once painted. These pillars These pillars have miniature niches enshrining the dancing-figures of heavenly musicians and male and female deities. The bottom of these pillars shows figures of Visņu and Brahma with attendants. The capitals are profusely carved with Mughal and indigenous motifs including the figures of birds and musicians in niches and recessed ornamentation. Of the three surviving bracket-figures two show female heavenly musicians and the third a mrdanga-player. The female musicians are dressed in a short coli, a tight skirt, päijämä and a long thin brocaded scarf which comes down the shoulders in a loose knot between the legs. The mrdanga-player also shows a Mughal-period costume-jämd with six points, paṭkā and atpați turban.
On the top of the capitals are fixed four entablatures which support the dome. The mandapa being Jaina, the carver has embellished it with stories of Tirthankara's lives. The friezes represent processions with elephants, horses and riders, footmen with palanquins, chariots driven by horses and oxen, male drummers riding camels and horsemen blowing trumpets vigorously (plate 294A). An Acarya preaching to the monks is also a favourite theme.
Above the friezes rises an octagonal dome (plate 294B) reaching a height of 46 cm. decorated with concentric circles from inside. Externally, the dome has the appearance of a receding stepped pedestal with simple ornamentation consisting of the figures of Gaja-Laksmi and pūrṇa-kumbhas in miniature niches. Fourteen dreams and other auspicious symbols also occur. The mandapa can be safely assigned to the Akbar period, i.e. about 1600, on the basis of the costumes and the style of carving.
The Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, Baroda, also has an excellent example of a wooden house-shrine. Goetz believes that it once formed a part of the house of a rich Jaina merchant of the Broach area. The mandapa is
S.K. Andhare, 'Painted wooden mandap from Gujarat', Bulletin of the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, 7, Bombay, 1959-62, pp. 41-45 and plates 29 to 33c.
* H. Goetz, 'A monument of old Gujarati wood sculpture', Bulletin of the Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, VI, parts I-II, Baroda, 1950, p. 2.
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