Indian Temple Fragment with Monkey Motif, Based

Row of pierced stone pediments, one after another, like a skyline in pale blue.

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. 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. Elongated block on a wooden stand, with a wavy border of tiny openings above a row of stepped, lattice-filled gables. Little crouching figures sit between the gables, and the pale surface shows wear and chips. It is 46 inches wide, 14 deep and 14.5 high.

A tiny city of lace, tidily arranged.