A Jain bronze altar-piece from India in Razgrad History Museum, Bulgaria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57573/be-ja.16.163-174Keywords:
Jainism, Jain Bronzes, Jain Iconography, Razgrad, Tīrthamkara Ṛṣabhanātha (Ṛṣabha), Middle AgesAbstract
The Jain bronze altar-piece identified so far as Buddha or as Anantanātha now in Razgrad Museum (Bulgaria) shows the strands of hair typical for the Jina Ṛṣabhanātha, hanging down behind his ears onto the shoulders. Ṛṣabha’s symbol, the bull, also appears оn the front of the pedestal. For the authors the anthropomorphic elaboration of the grahas suggests that the bronze was produced in the 9th or 10th c. AD. This article discussed an artefact that accidentally ended up in Bulgaria, which is no way connected with the cultural and religious traditions of the region, neither at the time it was produced, nor after.
Downloads
References
Andhare, S. 1992. Treasures from the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum. Ahmedabad: Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum.
Auboyer, J. 1949. Le Trône et son symbolisme dans l’Inde ancienne (Annales du Musée Guimet. Bibliothèque d’études, t. 55). Paris: Presses universitaires de France.
Balbir, N. 2009. How to Sleep? What to Dream? Sleep and Dream Dos and Don’ts in the Jain Tradition. In Bautze-Picron, C. (ed.) The Indian Night. Sleep and Dreams in Indian Culture. New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 103–158.
Balkanski, T. 1985. Mongolski ezikovi sledi v Rodopskata toponimia. Sapostavitelno ezikoznanie XI.2, 41–44 (in Bulgarian).
Bhattacharya, B.C. 1974. Jaina Iconography (Second revised edition). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Вrentjes, B. 1971. On the Prototype of the Proto-Bulgarian Temples at Pliska, Preslav and Madara. East and West 2.3–4, 215–216.
Gergova, D. 2004. Sboryanovo – Тhe Sacred Land of the Getae. Sofia: Bulgarian Bestseller.
Ghosh, A. 1974. Jaina Art and Architecture: Published on the Occasion of the 2500th Nirvana Anniversary of Tīrthamkara Mahavira, vol. I. New Delhi: Bharatiya Jnanpita.
Joshi, N.P. 1977. Jaina Metal Images in the State Museum. Lucknow: Lucknow University.
Krüger, P.F. 2011. Classification of Jaina Bronzes from Western India. Jaina Studies. Newsletter of the Centre of Jaina Studies 6, 1–44.
Kvinto, L. 1988. Zavetskata statuetka na Buda – chast ot jainistkia oltar. Vazhod 6.2 (in Bulgarian).
Kvinto, L. 1991. Otnovo za indiiskata statuetka ot Razgradskia muzej. Arheologia XXXIII.1, 56–60 (in Bulgarian).
Rashev, R. 1978. Za tibetskite usporeditsi na Madarskia konnik. Arheologia XX.3, 24–29 (in Bulgarian).
Ruseva, G., Moutafov, E. 2025. Jaina ‘Bronze’ Altar-piece: Iconography and Reading of Its Inscription. In Moutafov, E. (ed.) Research Announcements. Bulletin ‘Heritage BG’ 8, 5–35.
Shah, U.P. 1951. Age of Differentiation of Śvetāmbara and Digambara Images and the earliest known Śvetāmbara Bronzes. Bulletin of Prince of Wales Museum 1, 1–11.
Shah, U.P. 1955. Studies in Jaina Art. Banaras: Jaina Cultural Research Society.
Shah, U.P. 1959. Akota Bronzes. Bombay: Department of Archaeology, Government of Bombay.
Shah, U.P. 1975. Jaina Bronzes. A Brief Study. In Shah, U.P., Madhusudan A.D. (eds) Aspects of Jaina Art and Architecture. Ahmedabad: Gujarat State Committee for the Celebration of 2500th Anniversary of Bhagavān Mahāvīra Nirvāṇa, 269–298.
Shah, U.P. 1982. Minor Jaina Deities. Journal of the Oriental Institute 31.3, 274–290.
Shah, U.P. 1988. Jain Bronzes from Western India: Akota, Vasantgadh and Valabhi. In Mathur, A.R., Khandalavala, K.J. (eds) The Great Tradition: Indian Bronze Masterpieces. Specially published for the Festival of India. New Delhi: Brijbasi Printers, 54–69.
Tiwari, M.N.P. 1983. Elements of Jaina Iconography. Varanasi: Indological Book House.
Yavashov, А.I. 1929. Peti otchet na Razgradskoto Arheologitchesko Druzhestvo za 1927 g. Razgrad: Petar Antonov’s Printing House, 8–11 (in Bulgarian).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The authors retain full copyright on the articles or other publications.
All materials are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License, under which materials may be distributed or reproduced freely, provided the original is unchanged and is quoted correctly.
