Gujarat
silver on wood
A decorative silver lion with a wooden frame. The ferocious looking lion is seated on its hind legs and is open mouthed, exposing large teeth. These would have served as symbolic supports to the inner sanctum of home shrine.
Among the Jains the lion served as the mount of Mahavira, the 24th and last Jina. Mahavira was the twenty-fourth Tirthankara (ford-maker) of Jainism which was revived and reestablished by him. In the Jain tradition, it is believed that Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BC into a royal family in what is now Bihar, India. At the age of thirty, abandoning all worldly possessions, he left his home in pursuit of spiritual awakening and became an ascetic. For the next twelve and a half years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities, after which he is believed to have attained omniscience.
Size (cms): 15(H) x 14.5(W) x 7.5(D)
Size (inches): 6(H) x 5.5(W) x 3(D)
