| Aradhakamurti/Adhisthayakamurti--Popular Piety, Politics, and the Medieval Jain Temple Portrait Contributor(s): Laughlin, Jack C. (Author), Gassmann, Herausgegeben Robert (Author) |
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ISBN: 0820458910 ISBN-13: 9780820458915 Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing OUR PRICE: $45.55 Product Type: Paperback Language: German Published: January 2003 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Art | Sculpture & Installation - Religion | History - History | Asia - General |
| Dewey: 731.842 |
| LCCN: 2003047586 |
| Series: Swiss Asian Studies, Monographs |
| Physical Information: 290 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Asian - Religious Orientation - Christian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Many aspects of Medieval Western Indian temple art have been the subject of scholarly attention. One type of temple-image which has been identified but heretofore unstudied is the portrait. This study brings together evidence of more than 200 images of historical lay people and ascetics from the medieval temples of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The author emphasizes Jain specimens, but also includes a number of notable Hindu examples. However, it is the evidence of the Jain portraits that is by far the most significant. This book provides some startling insights into the beliefs and practices of the Ś vetā mbara sect of Jainsim in a period from about the 12th to 17th centuries. The analysis of lay portraits illuminates some very significant episodes in this period of Jain history. The discussion of monks' portraits presents much that is contrary to expectation. Evidence indicates that even Jain monks donated portraits of other monks. This is surprising since gifting is a practice commonly thought to be a lay prerogative and not allowed to ascetics. The reasons for these monastic donations are discussed and investigated, and reveal that the worldview of medieval Jain monks was often something very different from that portrayed in much of Jain scholarship to date. |