Indian Temple Fragment Depicting Lion with Crossed Paws

Lion in a black beard, pink face and orange paws, painted with great enthusiasm.

This temple fragment depicting lion with crossed paws is Jain, from Bhojpur, Kutch District, India, and dates to the mid 19th century. It is carved & painted stone. Manusyaloka paintings, also called Maps of the Human World, show the universe as a cosmic wheel of time in which individual lives are only pin pricks. Seated stone beast faces front with its paws crossed on a square base. Its face carries pink and red paint, its mane is a rough black mass, and its body and legs are coated in bright orange with chips and crumbs. It is 21 inches wide, 7 deep and 15 high.

Wildly colorful, slightly crusty, and not remotely shy.