A large painting of a lokapurusha

INDIA, RAJASTHAN, 19TH CENTURY

Details

A large painting of a lokapurusha
India, Rajasthan, 19th century
The face and neck with seated figures and the forehead with a crescent moon, further bands of seated figures at the chest and jambudvipa at the belt, below that seven bands filled with various scenes from hell, the figure flanked by various texts, the entire surrounded by a floral and vine border
Opaque pigments on textile
52 x 35¾ in. (132 x 90.8 cm.), folio

Sale room notice

Please note that the dimensions of this work are:
52 x 35¾ in. (132 x 90.8 cm.), folio

Lot Essay

Lokapurushas depict the correlation between man and the universe by relating the cosmos to the proportions of the human figure. Divided into three parts, adholoka (lower world) is represented from below the navel to the base; madhyaloka (middle world) is reduced to just the jambudvipa and represented by a round disk at the waist; and urdhvaloka (upper world) is depicted by the torso, neck and head. The heavens and hell are further subdivided into multiple levels represented by multicolored bands to indicate where different deities, demons, animals and humans live.

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