c. 1825-1850

Holy Man Seated on a Regency-Style Chair

The three horizontal white lines on this priest's forehead indicate that he is a devotee of the god Shiva. The orange-clad and tonsured holy man wears a garland of rudraksha beads, the large brown seeds of a tree sacred to Shiva. On his feet are raised wooden thong sandals often worn by holy men. In his lap is a horizontal sacred book (called a pothi in Sanskrit), partially wrapped in his robe. His young face is serious as he holds up one page and points to it. Rather than the more traditional mat, this holy man sits on an elegant Regency-style wooden chair, a prop indicating affluence and high status during the British period.