Shalibhadra Performing Austerities: Folio from a Shalibhadra Manuscript

Shalibhadra Performing Austerities: Folio from a Shalibhadra Manuscript

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the upper register, the Jain Shalibhadra, born to great wealth, and his wife present a manuscript to two Jain nuns (or perhaps “widows” of renunciants) seated beneath a decorated tree that has leafy branches in the form of creepers found in Malwa paintings. In the lower scene, which is set on a contrasting ground, they pull out their own hair—an act of renunciation (diksa) that is the first step to embarking on life as a monk or nun. The painting contains many early Rajput conventions in terms of the depiction of space and the color palette employed, while the figural type can be compared to Marwar production.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shalibhadra Performing Austerities: Folio from a Shalibhadra ManuscriptShalibhadra Performing Austerities: Folio from a Shalibhadra ManuscriptShalibhadra Performing Austerities: Folio from a Shalibhadra ManuscriptShalibhadra Performing Austerities: Folio from a Shalibhadra ManuscriptShalibhadra Performing Austerities: Folio from a Shalibhadra Manuscript

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.