Small image of Kunthunatha, the Seventeenth Tirthankara
Asian Art
MEDIUM
Brass
DATES
17th–18th century
DIMENSIONS
14 3/4 x 3 15/16 x 7 7/8 in. (37.5 x 10 x 20 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
34.738
CREDIT LINE
Brooklyn Museum Collection
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Small standing brass image of the seventeenth Jina, Kunthu, standing on a low circular pedestal (pitha) which in turn rests on a large base, and with an arched screen (torana) behind. The figure is completely nude, and hence belongs to the Digambara sect. His hair is in curls, he has long earlobes, and stands in a rigid pose, with arms pendant. The torana consists of a flat sheet of brass, rounded at the top and cut out behind the figure. At the base of either side are 2 low columns, partially cut out. Above the figure is a small, 3-tiered canopy (chattra), and on either side are fly whisks in relief. The edge of the torana is scalloped and pierced and at the top, in high relief, is a grotesque head called a kirtimukha. The base on which both image and torana rest is rectangular, spreading at the bottom, and with a slightly projecting upper edge. There is a wide projection in the center for the image. On the front of this is a small goat, in high relief, the cognizance (identifying animal emblem) of the Jina. On either side are areas with engraved criss-cross patterns, and below similarly engraved, widely-spaced designs, probably crude representations of lotus petals. There is a low railing around the top of the projection, which leans inwards and partially covers the circular stand on which the figure rests. On the top of the base inside this railing, and partially covered by the figure, is an engraved, circular lotus mark. At the base of the torana are smaller lotus designs, the center one in a circle and the other ones in lozenges. The brass is blackened.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Small image of Kunthunatha, the Seventeenth Tirthankara, 17th–18th century. Brass, 14 3/4 x 3 15/16 x 7 7/8 in. (37.5 x 10 x 20 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 34.738. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.738_acetate_bw.jpg)
IMAGE
front, 34.738_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
