Lot 96
96
A Rare and Important Bronze Figure of Jina Rishabhanatha
Property from the Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth
A Rare and Important Bronze Figure of Jina Rishabhanatha

INDIA, BIHAR, CIRCA 7TH CENTURY

Details
A Rare and Important Bronze Figure of Jina Rishabhanatha
India, Bihar, circa 7th Century
The "sky-clad" jina seated in meditation on a lotus throne, with large almond-shaped eyes beneath incised arched brows and his hair pulled back in long flowing locks curling elegantly over his shoulders, a srivastva mark incised on his chest, flanked by two flywhisk-bearing yakshas, the back of the throne composed of a round nimbus with flaming border and centered by a figure at top, flanked by birds over a gateway terminating in chandrabindi on either end, and surmounted by a three-tiered parasol with flying banners, the throne raised on stepped feet and centered by a miniature image of a bull
13 in. (33 cm.) high
Provenance
Dr. J.R. Belmont Collection, Basel, before 1964
R.H. Ellsworth Collection
Christian Humann, Pan-Asian Collection, before 1977
Literature
P. Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, 1978, p. 86, cat. no. 50.
P. Pal, The Peaceful Liberators, Jain Art from India, 1994, cat. no. 39, p. 152.
Exhibited
Los Angeles, The Peaceful Liberators, Jain Art from India, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1994/95, cat. no. 39; Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum, 1995; New Orleans Museum of Art, 1995; London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1995/96; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977, The Sensuous Immortals, cat. no. 50

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Lot Essay

Rishabhanatha is the first of the 24 Jinas, identified by the attributes of the bull and the distinctive hairstyle. When King Rishabhanatha renounced the world, he began to uproot his hair in the presence of Indra. After removing five handfuls, Indra asked him to stop when he saw how beautifully his remaining hair graced his shoulders. According to Digambara sources he shaved all his hair and it grew back in long locks during meditation. The present Jain bronze is considered by P. Pal to be "one of the most impressive to have survived from Bihar" (The Peaceful Liberators, Jain Art from India, 1994, p. 152).

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