Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India c10.s3.16

c10.s3.16

In Western Indian miniatures, trees are conventionally treated. The foliage is often composed of a series of circles or bouquets. Such trees give the impression of an umbrella. Their white or gilded trunks are covered with fine sinuous lines, perhaps simulating their barks. In another type, the leaves are painted separately, their sinuous branches and trunks are very delicate, and their knots are delineated with a few curved lines 69 (Fig. 73). In the third type, the tree-top is thickly covered with indigo leaves and the flowers in the shape of rosettes and buds are picked out in red 70 The coconut (Fig. 102) 71 and the palm trees (Fig. 101)⁷² and the mango 73 and the plantain trees are often represented realistically. Very vew architectural details are represented. A pair of columns suffice to represent a palace. In the *Pañchatīrthīpaṭ*, however, elaborate designs of Jain temples are given. It is quite possible that the lack of architectural details in Western Indian painting is due to the lack of space at the disposal of the artist.