Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
houses a fine statuette of Shiva and Uma on Nandin, while another contains an
intricate Buddha atop a naga, framed within a separate arcature; just beyond is a
miscellaneous collection of hands and feet from long-disintegrated statues.
The gallery also has a number of bronze artefacts, some dating back to the Funan
period (first to sixth century). These include an assortment of elaborate candleholders,
heavy elephant bells, religious water vessels and the paraphernalia for
betel-nut
preparation, including betel-nut containers in the shape of peacocks.
The far corner chamber has an interesting collection of
wooden Buddha statues
in
various states of gentle decay, all post-Angkor and showing signs of the gilt paints with
which they were once decorated.
South Gallery
The gracious head and shoulders of a vast, hollow reclining
Shiva
, with two of his four
arms remaining, takes pride of place in the southeast corner of the museum. Beyond,
in the
South Gallery
, a small but intricate collection of
Sanskrit inscriptions
on stones
dating back to the fifth and sixth centuries are on display, many from the southern
province of Takeo, supporting evidence of the region's political and religious
importance during the pre-Angkor period.
Pre-Angkor
Further into the South Gallery, the focus is still on the
pre-Angkor
period (pre-ninth
century), with slim, shapely sixth-century Buddhas in relaxed postures, their hair piled
on top of their heads in tight ringlets. These early sculptors, though dextrous - the
carved garments give an impression of the contours of the bodies underneath - had yet
to master carving in the round, so the statues are carved in
high relief
, with stone
remaining between the legs and arms.
Occupying pride of place is a 3m-tall, eight-armed image of
Vishnu
dating from the
Phnom Da era (sixth century). The figure wears a plain, pleated loincloth low at the
front and pulled up between the legs; the hands variously hold a flame, a conch and a
thunderbolt, all symbols of Vishnu. A stone arc supports the figure, but in a step
towards carving in the round, the stone has been chipped away between the arc and the
limbs. Close by, on the south wall, is a sixth-century high relief of
Krishna
, standing left
arm aloft, holding up Mount Govardhara.
Tucked under the roof in the central courtyard is a fine and varied collection of
linga
in excellent condition, while a series of voluptuous female statues of Durga and female
divinities, wearing elegantly draped
sampots
, line the wall.
Angkor period
A ninth-century, Kulen-style
Vishnu
in the portico of the South Gallery marks the shift
to the more formal
Angkor period
(ninth to thirteenth centuries) - notice how the
sculptors stabilized the statue's bulk, carving the right leg slightly forward of the body
and supporting the arms with a staff and sword. The late ninth-century
Preah Ko period
is characterized by comely figures, epitomized by the shapely statue of Queen
Rajendradevi in the west corner of the central section of the South Gallery.
Passing between a pair of delicately carved sandstone columns, you enter the west
section of the South Gallery and move into the
Bakheng period
(late ninth to early
tenth century), exemplified by a 2m-tall Shiva from Phnom Krom.
During the
Koh Ker period
(early to mid-tenth century) sculpture became more
dynamic, as illustrated by the athletic torsos of two wrestlers entwined in a throw
(in the courtyard window). It's worth stepping outside here to see some of the
original heads from the divinities of the causeway to Angkor Thom, and also an
unusual ablutions bowl made from polished schist, the spout in the shape of a
buffalo head.
