The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Birth of Mahavira, folio 40 (verso) from a Kalpa-sutra

Birth of Mahavira, folio 40 (verso) from a Kalpa-sutra

c. 1400
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 9.4 x 28.4 cm (3 11/16 x 11 3/16 in.)
Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski 1976.27.b
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Under the swing bed is a box decorated with two geese, filled with paan (betel nut, lime, and spices wrapped in betel leaf).

Description

A queen and her golden newborn lie on a swing, gazing at one another as two attendants hold fly whisks to honor them. The infant is Mahavira, founder of the Jain religion, who lived during the 500s BC in northern India.

Though palm leaf was preferred for sacred texts, Jain communities transitioned to the more readily available material of paper during the 1300s. A hole in the central red dot was made for a binding string.

The margin notes beginning with the “=” sign are comments explaining the text.
  • ?-1976
    Dr. Norman Zaworski [1920-2013], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1976-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Reproduced and mentioned: cat. no. 2, pp. 8-9.
  • Text and Image in Southern Asia​ (Indian Painting and Himalayan rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-March 5, 2023).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 5-April 27, 2015).
    Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=Birth of Mahavira, folio 40 (verso) from a Kalpa-sutra|url=false|author=|year=c. 1400|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.27.b