A brass Jain siddhapratima yantra. India. Early 20th century - image-1

Lot 22 Dα

A brass Jain siddhapratima yantra. India. Early 20th century

Auction 1157 - overview Cologne
27.06.2020, 11:00 - Asian Art
Estimate: 1.000 € - 1.200 €
Result: 3.125 € (incl. premium)
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A brass Jain siddhapratima yantra. India. Early 20th century

The highly stylized siddha stands as an openwork silhouette in an arched and lobed niche surmounted by a stylised waterpot on an integrated moulded base.
Height 15.9 cm

This type of image is viewed by Jains as a representation of a liberated soul who has freed himself of worldly obligations, and thus appears as an empty silhouette.

Provenance

Acquired at Backmann, London in 2015 (according to the consigner)

Literature

Compare very similar piece, ill. in: Joost van den Bergh, Perfect Presence. Tantra, Jain and Ritual Art from India, 2019, no. 88 and in: Tantra, exhibition catalogue, Stuttgart (1971), no. 203. For a 14th century example and explanatory note, see Pratapaditya Pal, The Peaceful Liberators, Los Angeles 1994, p.124.