Indian Temple Fragment with Monkey Motif, Based

Four bays of fretted blue ornament, edged by crouching figures with crumbled corners.

This temple fragment with monkey motif is Jain, from Bhojpur, Kutch District, India, and dates to the mid 19th century. It is carved & painted stone. Jainism teaches that the universe has no beginning or end, and that nothing is created or destroyed as living souls and non-living things change form over time. Broad block mounted on a wooden base, with a battlement band across the top and several stepped lattice gables below. Crouched figures sit between them, and the pale blue paint has worn and chipped across the face. It is 30 inches wide, 20 deep and 14.5 high.

A lot of busy detail, and nobody looks bothered.