Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India c11.3

c11.3

Western Indian miniatures are also of great importance for the study of the Gujarātī costume from the 12th to 16th century. The contemporary sculpture of Gujarāt is highly stylised, and does not care to represent the contemporary costumes of the people with accuracy, but the contemporary painting, following the traditions of Ajaṇṭā and Ellura, has kept a faithful record of the costumes of Gujarāt. The miniatures also represent faithfully various fashions in wearing coiffure and ornaments, both by men and women. The restricted space, however, has precluded the representation of finer details. In this chapter we propose to deal with all the information which Western Indian miniatures provide us about the printed calicoes, costumes, ornaments and coiffures.