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Lot 1846
Two cosmological diagrams
Estimated Value:
800 € - 1.200 €
Schätzpreis:
Description:
Western India, ca. 19th c.58,5 x 55 und 95 x 93 cm
The diagrams show elements of traditional cosmology. The circular cross-section of one of the planes of the (Jain?) sky shows, by means of different geometric symbols, the arrangement of the flying palaces of the gods (Sanskrit: vimāna), which serve as abodes and dwellings for the inhabitants of the sky. Another diagram contains calculations about the cosmos (?), which were written down in geometrically arranged squares. To illustrate the cosmos, a human head and limbs have been added to the number squares, suggesting the motif of the "world man" (Sanskrit: lokapuruṣa).
From an important private collection in northern Germany, collected mainly in India from the early 1950s to the 1980s
