Gwalior. Urwai

1890

Gwalior. Urwai, 1890. Photoglob Co. (Zurich, active c. 1890–1910). Photochrom; image: 20.6 x 26.6 cm (8 1/8 x 10 1/2 in.); paper: 20.6 x 26.6 cm (8 1/8 x 10 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the Karl B. Goldfield Trust 2018.218 The sculptures were carved into the steep sides of the cliffs below Gwalior’s fort in the mid-1400s, but the faces were re-cut after the images were defaced in 1527. The tiny visitors depicted on the road emphasize their
monumental scale. The colors in this image are imagined, added later in the studio in a lithographic printing process that produces colorized ink-on-paper prints from black-and-white photographic negatives. These sculptures depict Jinas, who are venerated by followers of the Jain religion of India, one of the oldest religions in the world.