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Patli (wooden cover) of Kalpasutra manuscript
(12th cent.) Jaisalmer (Rajasthan)
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Taken from : herenow4u.de
Arion Rosu: in Bulletin de l�ecole francaise
d�extreme orient 1982
La giraffe dans la faune de l�art indien.
This painting got dated comparing the style with other art of the area. It might well be the oldest drawing of a giraffe in India. All manuscripts were in those days written on palm-leaves being e.g.75 cm long and 7 cm wide. Perforated wooden boards (patli) were used to keep the leaves together. The leaves and boards where then stitched together with ropes. Patli were often decorated with paintings. In Jaisalmer the paintings were inspired by the landscape and the animals. The patli of which here part is given has a lotus, animals, birds and then this giraffe. The man who discovered this painting half a century ago (Muni Punyavijaya) dates it to the 12th century
The drawing given I redrew by hand from the picture found on the web
the original can be found:
Jaina Miniature Paintings
