Indian Seated Figure of Sai Baba

An elderly figure perches on a block, one knee up, cloth draped over the head

This seated figure of sai baba is from Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, and is contemporary. It is makrana marble. Marble was regarded as the most important material by Indian masons, whose guilds date to the 7th century BCE, and as the royal stone it was used for temples, tombs and palaces. A bearded seated figure with a head cloth leans on one raised knee, forearm resting across it. The carving is smooth and pale, with soft folds of fabric and bare feet on a curved base. A flat shadow falls behind. It is 16.5 inches wide, 16.5 deep and 39.5 high.

Comfortable on a rock in a way few of us manage.