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JAINA BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Pp. 66-67. Pallava (VIIIth C.). In the Jain cave at Sittannaväsal the Pallava painting that survies illustrates fields of lotus flowers, heavenly restings places provided by the Gods for ascetic sains on their lifelong pilgrimage. The figures are in much faded earth colours, greens and browns with little modelling. The fields have no geography, no real up nor down. The space is underfined and limitless. Among the decorative motives is the sinuous lotus setern which symbolises the creative sap of life (plate P. 66).
P. 70. Ellora (VIIIth-IXth C). There are several surviving fragments of painting on plaster, on the ceilings of the Jain caves. The Jain cave 33 Indrasabhā, the well known processional brieze above a series of panels represents a ferocious deity riding a bufallow with attendants. They are very few and simple ornaments here; the joints of the body are flat angles; the hair of the attendants is still simply All the personages stand on the base line of the picture, and the grounds are filled with cloud patterns.
Pp. 78-79. At Tiruparuttikundram, in 14th century Jain temple, survives a portion of an extensive decorative scheme, painted on walls, pillars, brackets and especially the ceiling; pictures belong to the late 14th century; much repainted in the later Vijayanagar epoch. These paitings are perhaps the most important documents bearing on the growth of medieval painting in India. Although it was a Jain establishment not all the panitings are subjects. Life of Krishna and other Gods familiar in Hinduism with the exception of frontal icons of the Tirthankaras, the heads of the figures are all shown in profile, with spanning the check, a long, painted conceptional eye whose upper eyelid is drawn in. Description of methods etc.
Plate P. 79. (An incident in the life of a Jain saint).
Mediaeval Manuscript painting. The Western India Mss. mainly of the Jain faith; preserved since the 11th century. The illuminations are of three Chief types; first, narrative; second, schematic representations of the transcendant regions with their population of deities; third, pure ornament. The earliest illuminations (in a Ms. dated 1100 A. D.) are decorative panels, elephant riders, and Apsaras. In later Mss. the figure drawings represent laymen listening to sermons, Goddesses, monks and stories of the lines of saints; style and methods described. Figure drawing of these early miniatures is reminiscent of that in the Jain caves at Ellora.
Paper introduced by Ca. 1400 for these Mss. by 1600 the style almost completely eclipsed by Moghul and Rajput forms of album-painting. During the 19th century painted cotton temple hangings continued to be made in a style visibly described from the Mss. tradition such hanging had been made sine the 17th century.
(Plate P. 88-The infancy of a saint).
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