312 - A grey granite stele of the Jaina Tirthankara seated on a lion throne and attended by two Yaksinis

A grey granite stele of the Jaina Tirthankara seated on a lion throne and attended by two Yaksinis South India, Carnatic region, Chola period, 13th century 137cm high x 60cm wide. (Import Duty Charged on the Hammer Price) 落槌價徵收進口關稅 Provenance: Brought to France in 1931 by C.T. Loo. Emmanuel de Monbrison, Paris, 1986. 印度南部卡納提克地區，朱羅王朝時期，十三世紀 灰色花崗岩雕耆那教祖師坐像石碑 來源：1931年由 C. T. Loo 帶至法國。 Emmanuel de Monbrison，巴黎，1986年。 The Jaina community enjoyed substantial patronage in southern India from the early medieval period, and Jaina sculpture continued to be produced in the Tamil country and the wider Carnatic region under the Cholas, even as Saiva and Vaishnava devotion came to dominate temple building. The present stele presents the Tirthankara seated in meditation on a lion throne (simhasana), the conventional seat of a Jina, flanked by two attendant yaksinis. The composition is formal and frontal, and the disciplined treatment of the hard granite is typical of Chola-period stone carving in the region. A comparable granite Tirthankara stele is illustrated in P. Banerjee, Jaina Art through the Ages, New Delhi, 1975, p. 4, and another was exhibited in Sculpture des Indes, Société Générale de Banque, Brussels, 1978. For the broader context, see P. Dundas, The Jains, London, 1992. 自中世紀早期以來，耆那教社群在印度南部便獲得相當程度的支持與贊助。即使在朱羅王朝時期，濕婆派與毗濕奴派的虔誠信仰逐漸主導寺廟建築之際，泰米爾地區及更廣泛的卡納提克地區仍持續製作耆那教雕塑。本件石碑描繪一位耆那教祖師（Tirthankara）結跏趺坐於獅座（simhasana）之上，呈禪定姿態。獅座是耆那教覺者（Jina）造像的傳統座具，祖師兩側則有兩位侍從夜叉女（yaksinis）相伴。整體構圖莊嚴規整，採正面呈現的方式；堅硬花崗岩的雕刻處理沉穩而嚴謹，充分體現了該地區朱羅王朝時期石雕藝術的典型特色。一件可資比較的花崗岩耆那教祖師石碑，見 P. Banerjee 著《歷代耆那教藝術》（Jaina Art through the Ages），新德里，1975年，第4頁；另一件類似作品曾於1978年在布魯塞爾 Société Générale de Banque 舉辦的「印度雕塑」（Sculpture des Indes）展覽中展出。有關耆那教的整體歷史與文化背景，可參閱 P. Dundas 著《耆那教徒》（The Jains），倫敦，1992年。