Iconography of the Jain images in the Government Museum, Chennai, Madras

"South India is the cradle of civilisation. The earliest civilisation postulated here dates back to more than 10,000-15,00 years from the present. The land has had successive layers of different civilisations...in different time periods. This has resulted in a highly advanced civilisation, which has spawned its famous temples, which serve as repositories of architecture, art and culture....Some of the works of art of this culture, which were either buried in the soil or found neglected due to the passage of time have been collected and deposited in the Government Museum, Chennai (Madras)."--Foreword, p. 5.