11th-13th century AD. A polished stone standing male deity, probably Vishnu, with four arms, face with linear ridge forming a heavy brow, slender eyes with defined pupils, elongated ears, wearing a rectangular cloth (sampot) around the lower part of the body with a double fishtail pleat and frontal sash, conical knot of hair (chignon) arranged on the head with incised decoration, detailed diadem; mounted on custom-made stand for display. See Tucker, J. and Tozer, A., An Important Group of Sculptures from India, Southeast Asia and China, London, 2018, p.18, for a comparable example with discussion; see Sotheby's, Khmer, Thai, Indian and Himalayan Art, London, 12 October 1989, items 61, 68, 77, 82, for comparable examples.68 kg total, 135cm including stand (53"). Property of a Cambridgeshire gentleman since 1990; previously in a private collection formed in the 1980s; accompanied by geological report No. TL3259 by geology consultant Dr R. L. Bonewitz; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.157943-10045. Vishnu is a principal Hindu deity, considered the protector of the world. Vishnu has ten avatars through which he manifests in order to protect moral and religious codes and to combat evil, and he appears on earth to help humankind in moments of crisis, although not all avatars of Vishnu are benevolent. He was first incarnated as the fish Matsya, and his incarnations follow an evolutionary pattern from fish and reptiles, to animals, the dwarf Vamana, to men and finally the future creator, Kalkin. Vishnu is part of the Trimurti, a union of the three cosmic functions of creation, maintenance and destruction embodied by Vishnu (maintenance), Brahma (creation) and Shiva (destruction").