Indian Temple Fragment with Monkey Motif

Rough pale block with one blue corner, where a small elephant peers around the edge.

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. Jain texts picture the universe as shaped like a man, broad at the top, narrow in the middle and broad again at the bottom. Angular stone block on a wooden base, mostly plain and tan, with one face painted bright pale blue. A small carved elephant is visible in the blue section, and the top edge is chipped. It is 6 inches wide, 15 deep and 11 high.

Mostly raw rock, with a surprising little guest in blue.