A TANJORE STANDING PORTRAIT OF A SHAIVA BHAKTI SAINT, POSSIBLY A TAMIL NAYANAR AN EYE FOR DETAIL: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ESTATE IN NORTHERN LONDON Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu, South India, early to mid-19th century Opaque pigments, white wash, gold leaf and sukka (limestone paste) on wood, the large vertical-format composition portraying a standing Hindu saint clad in a typical plain white hermit cloth, his forehead marked with the white and red tripundra, the Shaivite tilaka worn by Shiva's devotees, the saint possibly one of the Nayanars, 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries AD devoted to the Hindu god Shiva, the four most well-known also called Nalvars, and remembered as Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar, and Manikkavacakar, set against a solid bold red ground, the portrait encased by a lobed golden arch with green curtains resting on slender golden columns, the gold leaf architectural frame studded with square red glass beads replicating rubies, mounted, glazed and framed, 61cm x 51cm including the frame.