India - Jain Yellow bronze, a copper alloy probably rich in zinc. Jain Pancha-Tirthika votive altar dedicated to Mahavira, also called Vardhamana, the 24th - 13 cm
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Jaïn domestic votive altar of the Pāñcatīrthika type dedicated to Mahāvīra (Vardhamāna), dated Vikrama Saṃvat 1862 (c. 1805–1806), cast in yellow bronze, with a frontal seated Mahāvīra and four secondary Tirthankaras standing, overall 13 cm high, 9 cm wide, 4.5 cm deep, 515 g, in very good plus condition, provenance Collection RM Lefevre, acquired in 2025 from the widow of the collector.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Remarkable domestic votive Jain altar of Pāñcatīrthika type, cast in yellow bronze, a copper alloy probably rich in zinc.
The central figure represents Mahāvīra, also named Vardhamāna, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara. He is depicted facing forward, seated in meditation, legs crossed and hands joined in the dhyānamudrā on the lap.
Mahāvīra is surrounded by four secondary Tirthankaras standing in kāyotsarga, arranged symmetrically two by two. The presence of these five Jinas justifies the designation of a Pāñcatīrthika composition.
The main figure is set in a deep architectural niche beneath a projecting canopy decorated with triangular pendants. The upper part features a stylized honorific umbrella, two elephants facing the central axis, and a crown ending in a conical pinnacle.
The whole is inscribed within a broad open-work torana-prabhāvalī, whose regular openings and the various architectural registers evoke the façade of a miniature sanctuary. The substructure includes a small central edifice housing a meditating figure, accompanied by several secondary figures in devotional attitudes.
Under the throne appear two lions facing each other. These animals belong to the vocabulary of the sacred throne and also constitute the lāñchana, or traditional emblem, of Mahāvīra. A auspicious oval mark visible at the centre of the torso may be interpreted as a vernacular representation of the śrīvatsa, a traditional sign associated with the Jinas.
The reverse bears a long dedicatory inscription engraved in the metal after casting, probably at the time of finishing and consecrating the altar. The reading retained identifies the name of Vardhamāna and the date Vikrama Saṃvat 1862, corresponding to 1805-1806 CE, according to the month and the local conversion system.
The work can be attributed to western India, probably Gujarat or Rajasthan, and belongs to the tradition of small domestic Jain shrines produced in the early 19th century.
Patina
Patina is one of the main interests of this piece.
The surface shows an ancient, complex and stratified patina, combining olive, golden-brown and deep green hues with reddish and pinkish deposits preserved in the hollows. The raised reliefs are smoother and brighter, while the protected areas retain old oxides and deposits.
This surface is particularly distinctive compared with the patinas usually observed on the small Jain votive altars of this category.
The piece has been kept exactly in the state in which it was acquired. It has not been cleaned or polished by Mimosa SA.
Condition
Very good condition.
Item intact, stable and complete, without restoration, soldering, cracks or movable elements.
The gaps, contour irregularities and thickness variations are inherent to the casting and artisanal manufacture of the work. The deposits, oxides and surface variations are compatible with its age and history of use.
Dimensions
Height: 13 cm
Width: 9 cm
Maximum thickness: 4.5 cm
Weight: 515 g
Provenance
RM Lefevre collection, formed between 1979 and 2009.
Acquired directly from the collector’s widow by Mimosa SA in 2025.
Documentation
The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a complete illustrated study, prepared by Olivier Maréchal for Mimosa SA after direct physical examination of the piece and cross-checking with high-definition photographs, video, specialised documentation and museum comparisons.
A museum comparison particularly close in dimensions and in architectural and iconographic composition is preserved at the University of New England Museum of Antiquities, under inventory number MA1997.21.1.
Shipping
The work will be packaged with care and shipped with tracking and insurance. When shipping, the buyer will receive a complete file including the detailed real transport cost, tracking information, the certificate, associated documents and useful photographs.
In the interest of transparency, when the amount paid by the buyer for delivery is greater than the actual charged cost, the difference is automatically refunded as soon as the sale settlement is released by Catawiki. This procedure has been applied several times and constitutes a standing commitment of Mimosa SA to its buyers.
Link Video : https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5nlz55m3zyqoz7tidb2g9/ABN6YDK1owxdyaA4xK1e_Sk?rlkey=jo5vk59bry9jg91p2sj7j0yqz&dl=0"} }# Answer that JSON object only. Ensure proper quoting. The trailing quote seems extra; ensure valid JSON. There's an extra quote at end in my text. Need fix: remove trailing quote. Also ensure within translated_text string no stray newline? it's fine. Let's provide corrected.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateRemarkable domestic votive Jain altar of Pāñcatīrthika type, cast in yellow bronze, a copper alloy probably rich in zinc.
The central figure represents Mahāvīra, also named Vardhamāna, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara. He is depicted facing forward, seated in meditation, legs crossed and hands joined in the dhyānamudrā on the lap.
Mahāvīra is surrounded by four secondary Tirthankaras standing in kāyotsarga, arranged symmetrically two by two. The presence of these five Jinas justifies the designation of a Pāñcatīrthika composition.
The main figure is set in a deep architectural niche beneath a projecting canopy decorated with triangular pendants. The upper part features a stylized honorific umbrella, two elephants facing the central axis, and a crown ending in a conical pinnacle.
The whole is inscribed within a broad open-work torana-prabhāvalī, whose regular openings and the various architectural registers evoke the façade of a miniature sanctuary. The substructure includes a small central edifice housing a meditating figure, accompanied by several secondary figures in devotional attitudes.
Under the throne appear two lions facing each other. These animals belong to the vocabulary of the sacred throne and also constitute the lāñchana, or traditional emblem, of Mahāvīra. A auspicious oval mark visible at the centre of the torso may be interpreted as a vernacular representation of the śrīvatsa, a traditional sign associated with the Jinas.
The reverse bears a long dedicatory inscription engraved in the metal after casting, probably at the time of finishing and consecrating the altar. The reading retained identifies the name of Vardhamāna and the date Vikrama Saṃvat 1862, corresponding to 1805-1806 CE, according to the month and the local conversion system.
The work can be attributed to western India, probably Gujarat or Rajasthan, and belongs to the tradition of small domestic Jain shrines produced in the early 19th century.
Patina
Patina is one of the main interests of this piece.
The surface shows an ancient, complex and stratified patina, combining olive, golden-brown and deep green hues with reddish and pinkish deposits preserved in the hollows. The raised reliefs are smoother and brighter, while the protected areas retain old oxides and deposits.
This surface is particularly distinctive compared with the patinas usually observed on the small Jain votive altars of this category.
The piece has been kept exactly in the state in which it was acquired. It has not been cleaned or polished by Mimosa SA.
Condition
Very good condition.
Item intact, stable and complete, without restoration, soldering, cracks or movable elements.
The gaps, contour irregularities and thickness variations are inherent to the casting and artisanal manufacture of the work. The deposits, oxides and surface variations are compatible with its age and history of use.
Dimensions
Height: 13 cm
Width: 9 cm
Maximum thickness: 4.5 cm
Weight: 515 g
Provenance
RM Lefevre collection, formed between 1979 and 2009.
Acquired directly from the collector’s widow by Mimosa SA in 2025.
Documentation
The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a complete illustrated study, prepared by Olivier Maréchal for Mimosa SA after direct physical examination of the piece and cross-checking with high-definition photographs, video, specialised documentation and museum comparisons.
A museum comparison particularly close in dimensions and in architectural and iconographic composition is preserved at the University of New England Museum of Antiquities, under inventory number MA1997.21.1.
Shipping
The work will be packaged with care and shipped with tracking and insurance. When shipping, the buyer will receive a complete file including the detailed real transport cost, tracking information, the certificate, associated documents and useful photographs.
In the interest of transparency, when the amount paid by the buyer for delivery is greater than the actual charged cost, the difference is automatically refunded as soon as the sale settlement is released by Catawiki. This procedure has been applied several times and constitutes a standing commitment of Mimosa SA to its buyers.
Link Video : https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5nlz55m3zyqoz7tidb2g9/ABN6YDK1owxdyaA4xK1e_Sk?rlkey=jo5vk59bry9jg91p2sj7j0yqz&dl=0"} }# Answer that JSON object only. Ensure proper quoting. The trailing quote seems extra; ensure valid JSON. There's an extra quote at end in my text. Need fix: remove trailing quote. Also ensure within translated_text string no stray newline? it's fine. Let's provide corrected.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Culture
India - Jain
Century/timeframe
Daté Vikrama Saṃvat 1862, soit 1805-1806
Name of object
Jain Pancha-Tirthika votive altar dedicated to Mahavira, also called Vardhamana, the 24th
Acquired from
Private collection
Year acquired
2025
Material
Yellow bronze, a copper alloy probably rich in zinc.
Country acquired from
Belgium
Condition
Very good +
Previous owner acquired from
Gallery / Antique dealer
Height
13 cm
Previous owner - year acquired
1979
Width
9 cm
Previous owner - country acquired from
Belgium
Depth
4.5 cm
I verify that I have obtained this object legally and that I am allowed to sell it
Yes
Authenticity
Original/official
Sold by
Disclaimer
The seller was informed by Catawiki about documentation requirements and guarantees the following: - the object was legally obtained, - the seller has the right to sell and/or export the object, as relevant, - the seller will provide the necessary provenance information and arrange required documentation and permits/licenses, as applicable and as per local laws, - the seller will notify the buyer of any delays in obtaining permits/licenses. By bidding, you acknowledge that import documentation may be required depending on your country of residence and that obtaining permits/licenses may cause delays in the delivery of your object.
The seller was informed by Catawiki about documentation requirements and guarantees the following: - the object was legally obtained, - the seller has the right to sell and/or export the object, as relevant, - the seller will provide the necessary provenance information and arrange required documentation and permits/licenses, as applicable and as per local laws, - the seller will notify the buyer of any delays in obtaining permits/licenses. By bidding, you acknowledge that import documentation may be required depending on your country of residence and that obtaining permits/licenses may cause delays in the delivery of your object.
