The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Cover for a Jain Manuscript

c. 1800

Western India, Gujarat

Silk: satin weave; embroidery, polychrome silk, gold filé, flat metal strip
Overall: 26.4 x 13.7 cm (10 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1925.494
Location: Not on view

Description

When closed, the horizontal stack of Jain manuscript pages is protected by firm covers on the top and bottom. A donor may commission a luxurious textile to place over or wrap the sacred text to honor it. Textiles with repeated floral plant patterns—these appear to be roses—were popularized at the imperial Mughal court during the mid-1600s, after which they spread throughout India.
  • ?–1925
    Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy [1877–1947], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1925–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Pandey, Vishwanath. The Orient: The World of Jainism : Jaina History, Art, Literature, Philosophy and Religion. Bombay: Pandey, 1976. p. 6-12
    Shah, Umakant Premanand. Treasures of Jaina Bhaṇḍāras. Ahmedabad: L.D. Institute of Indology, 1978. pl. 101-102, 165-166
    Crill, Rosemary. Indian Embroidery. London: V & A Publications, 1999. Pl. 59, pg. 68
    Common Thread: Books. HALI; the international journal of Oriental carpets and textiles. London: Oguz Press. Issue 218 Winter 2023 p. 44, illus. 8
  • Text and Image in Southern Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-March 5, 2023).
    Needles, Dye-Pots, and Looms: Textile Traditions in India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15, 1985-May 11, 1986).
  • {{cite web|title=Cover for a Jain Manuscript|url=false|author=|year=c. 1800|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1925.494