Indian Temple Fragment Depicting Monkey, Based

Another thinker curled tight on a rock, looking up and away in a fit of reverie.

This temple fragment depicting monkey is Jain, from Gujarat, India, and dates to the mid 18th century. It is carved & painted stone. Jain texts picture the universe as shaped like a man, broad at the top, narrow in the middle and broad again at the bottom. Seated carved figure hugs its knees with its head tilted back and its hand near the mouth. White paint covers the body in worn patches that expose brown below, and the base is a lumpy mound. It is 10 inches wide, 4 deep and 12 high.

A great deal of feeling for something this small.