Book cover, Gujarat, late 19th century
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
late 19th century
Cover for a Jain manuscript embroidered with gold thread and sequins MANUSCRIPT COVERS ABOVE: [text relating to IS.50-1983] BELOW: MANUSCRIPT COVER SHOWING THE FOURTEEN DREAMS OF TRISHALA
Silk embroidered with gold-wrapped thread and sequins Gujarat, late 19th century IS.20-1978 Some Jain manuscripts were themselves worshipped as sacred objects and often had elaborately decorated covers.The earliest manuscripts were written on palm leaves, tied into bundles with cords, and had long wooden painted cover boards. After about 1350 illustrated manuscripts began to be written on paper butstill had painted covers. Ornate textile covers were also in use by the seventeenth century. This nineteenth-century example folds round at the back, where it is decorated with eight auspicious signs.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 3
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- Height: 16 cm; Width: 29.2 cm
- Materials and techniques
- Red satin, embroidered with gold thread and sequins
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Gujarat
Identification
- Candidate id
- vam-O68514
- Museum object number
- IS.20-1978
- Object history (museum record)
- The scroll was originally collected by W.G. Archer. The Museum received the scroll as a gift from John C. Irwin in 1978.
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked single-object source. Wider type attribution and authenticity have not been independently verified.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type and source attribution against specialist references.