Southeast Asia, Khmer Empire, Bayon style, ca. 12th century CE. A gorgeous sandstone carving of a torso and lower body. Probably depicting the god Vishnu, the figure stands with his legs slightly apart, wearing a sampot (a long rectangular cloth worn around the lower body that is the 1500 year-old traditional dress of Cambodia). The figure has a naked upper body, with an incised chest and navel. Around the neck are two incised lines that might be intended to look like a necklace. Figure comes with custom stand. Size: 4" W x 9.8" H (10.2 cm x 24.9 cm); height on stand: 11.4" (29 cm)

Khmer art shifted away from Indian styles in the 7th century CE to encompass its own framework; one example of this seen here is that this statue is carved in the round, rather than as a relief on a stela, which was common with Indian and Javanese Hindu and Buddhist sculptures that previously influenced Cambodian art. From this, we can infer that Khmer sculptors would have desired their artwork to be viewed from all sides, and thus placed in the center of temples rather than against a wall. While this artwork was religious - priests supervised its execution - its realism is unmistakable and some scholars believe that gods and goddesses were portrayed with the features of individual members of the royal court. This sculpture and others like it would have both emphasized the power of the monarchy and given high ranking people joy - after all, who wouldn't want to see themselves sculpted by the finest artisans in stone and compared to a god?

Provenance: Whisnant Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, acquired over twenty years ago

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#122991

Piece is a fragment, with losses at the head, arms, and legs.