AN ILLUSTRATED LOOSE FOLIO FROM A KALAKACARYAKATHA MANUSCRIPT  Possibly Gujarat, North West India, 1400 - 1450  Opaque pigments, black ink and gold on paper, 7ll. to page of Prakrit text in Jain nagari script, the recto with two panel miniatures in gold, red and black depicting Indra in two forms, as an ascetic and as himself, paying homage to Kalaka, a red roundel imitating pothi hole in the centre of the text, the verso only with text and red roundel in the centre, within thick red rules, 11cm x 26cm. The series from which this leaf comes is remarkable for the quality of the illustrations, which are characterised by a striking design consisting of figures and architectural details rendered entirely in gold against a red background. The absence of blue and the unadorned red dot point to a date in the first half of the 15th century. Indeed, it is only after the mid-15th century with the rise in stature and wealth of the Jain community that backgrounds to Jain paintings replaced red with blue, made from lapis lazuli imported from Afghanistan.