Queen Trisala on Her Couch

Growing contacts between northern Indian and the Islamic cultures of Mamluk Egypt and Timurid Persia transformed Jain manuscript painting during the fifteenth century. Paper, introduced from Persia in the twelfth century, gained popularity and by 1350 had replaced palm leaves as the preferred ground for Jain album painting. The importation of illustrated Islamic manuscripts, decorative book bindings, and luxury carpets enriched the visual vocabulary of the Indian subcontinent. The more generous paper format permitted artists to develop ornamental border decorations like those seen here. Continuous-knot designs, the deep crimson ground, and floral medallions are further indications of Persian influence on Jain manuscript illumination.