GUJARAT, INDIA, 17TH CENTURY

In Jain cosmography the middle kingdom of the universe (Madhyaloka) consists of two and a half continents (Adhaidvipa). Jambudvipa, depicted in the present lot, is the innermost of these. Mount Meru is the central axis and India is represented by a land mass at the bottom centre, emerging from a yellow band representing the Himalayas and bounded by the Indus and Ganges Rivers. Bounding this continent is the Salt Ocean, Lavanasamudra, and in the four corners are temples containing Jinas flanked by worshippers.

Concise representations of cosmography and the ‘myriad of destinies’ in Jainism guide its followers towards liberation. A similar 17^th century painting showing the entire Adhaidvipa from the Sven Gahlin Collection was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 06 October 2015, lot 110. Another later painting of the Jambudvipa was sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2011, lot 280.