From:
VisualThinker7@zzzzzzz
Date:
Sat, 4 Feb 2006 12:48:46 EST
Subject:
Jain Tirthankara you may already know this but....
A Tirthankara is a person who has reached spiritual perfection, in the
Jain religion; rather like a Bodhisattva in Buddhism.
If an image of that particular sculpture isn't available from the Museum,
there may be a photo of it in a book about Jain art, or Indian art, or you might
even find a photo of it mis-attributed to a Buddhist artist. I've seen
sculpture described as Buddhist when it was nothing of the sort. This became more
common when Buddhism became fashionable again a few years ago.
There are many different sculptures of Tirthankaras, the search could be
exhausting. As far as I know, modern artists continue to produce these works, as
commissioning works of art and building temples continues to be a highly
valued expression of devotion among believers.
PS
The owner of my local newsstand is a Jain. I found this out when I asked him
what he was eating one day, as I bought a newspaper. In the course of our
conversation I told him that his dietary practices sounded Jain to me and he
was astonished that I'd even heard of his religion.
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