A HINDU YOGI OR ASCETIC
Bundi, Rajasthan, North-Western India, late 18th - early 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold and silver on paper, the vertical miniature-sized portrait depicting a multi-armed standing naked yogi (practitioner of yoga) or ascetic, one of the most common personifications of the Hindu God Shiva, holding a different attribute in each hand including a sword, a flower garland, a staff, and a cup, his intimate parts covered by an elephant, to his side a dog, around his neck and emerging from his head a snake (naga) surmounted by a caparisoned and encrusted gold parasol, possibly a visual reference to his practice of kundalini yoga and his enlightened state, 10.7cm x 7.2cm.