18TH CENTURY OR EARLIERStanding in tribhanga upon a lotus pedestal, with his right hand in vitarka mudra, and the left holding a manuscript, wearing beaded jewellery, the face with almond-shaped eyes and pendulous pierced earlobes, 8kg, 38.5cm.Provenance: from an English private collection, London, acquired prior to 2000.Cf. Christie's New York, 21st March 2012, lot 750 for a related figure.Manikkavacakar was a prominent 9th-century saint devoted to the Hindu God Siva, he is also a poet who wrote Tiruvasakam, a book of Shaiva hymns.