Indian Temple Fragment with Deity Motif

Three small figures sit in a shrine-like niche, crowned by a heavily flaked blue-white face.

This temple fragment with deity 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. Square carved panel on a dark stand, its pale paint peeling away in large patches to show tan stone. A central group of seated and standing small figures sits in a shallow niche above a pierced border. It is 22 inches wide, 9 deep and 22 high.

Peeling, patient, and still holding its tiny congregation.