Vasantgarh hoard
Set of Jain sculptures
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Vasantgarh hoard[1] contains 240 Jain bronze idols discovered in Vasantgarh, located in the Sirohi District of Rajasthan, India, and dating back to early Medieval India.
Description
In 1956,[1] 240 bronze idols were found dating back to early Medieval India.[2] The large number of idols indicate that Jainism had taken a strong foothold in the area between the 6th and 11th centuries.[3] The Vasantgarh hoard, along with the Akota and Devni Mori bronzes, are important hoards found in Gujarat and Kathiawar province.[4]
The Akota and Vasantgarh bronzes were predominately influenced by Gupta and Gandhara styles seen during the reigns of Harsha and the Maitraka dynasty of Valabhi.[5] Images of the Vasantgarh include Jain tirthankar, sashandevatas (yaksha and yakshi) and deities bearing Jain iconography.[6][7] The images are generally small in size and crafted by the cire-perdue (lost-wax casting) process. Eyes and ornaments are frequently inlaid with silver and gold.[8]
Major images
An important figure of the Vasantgarh hoard is one of the Goddess Saraswati wearing an ornate crown, standing on a lotus pedestal, holding a lotus stem in one hand and a manuscript in the other. She has been placed inside the Mahavir temple of Pindwara and worshipped as Chakreshvari.[9] Similar iconography of Saraswati was found in the Akota bronzes. Two beautiful images of Rishabhanatha dating back to 6th and 7th century AD,[10] a sat-tirthika dated to 998 AD, bronze images of parshvanatha with sarvanha and ambika devi were also found in Vasantgarh.[11] A chaturvimsatipatta of Adinatha and tritirthi Parshvanatha are dated respectively to 1066 and 1078 CE.[12]
