An Indian copper-alloy Jainism tirthankara shrine,9th-10th century, cast in openwork with the principal image of a tirthankara seated in dyhanasana mudra on a throne, surrounded by standing jinas in architectural niches forming an arched canopy, all on a rectangular plinth, the reverse incised with a Sanskrit inscription, 14.4cm high In Jainism,a tirthankara is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the dharma and also relates to the founder of a tirtha, which is a fordable passage across the sea of interminable births and deaths making a path for others to follow.