Indian Temple Fragment with Deity Motif, Based

Small seated figure holds court inside a niche, framed by columns and blue-white paint.

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. Jain texts picture the universe as shaped like a man, broad at the top, narrow in the middle and broad again at the bottom. Square carved panel on a black stand, painted in pale blue-white and flaked at the top. A seated figure under a flame-shaped arch sits at center, framed by rows of pierced squares above and below. It is 20.5 inches wide, 7.5 deep and 21.75 high.

Neatly framed, with the frame doing most of the talking.