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Draft:Sculptures of Angkor

Sculptures of Angkor
សិល្បៈចម្លាក់អង្គរ
[[File:Devata Angkor Wat.jpg Angkor Wat|frameless]]
Angkor Wat (12th century CE)
Sculptures of Angkor is located in Cambodia
Sculptures of Angkor
Location of Angkor in Cambodia
LocationAngkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia
RegionSoutheast Asia
Coordinates13°24′45″N 103°52′00″E / 13.4125°N 103.8667°E / 13.4125; 103.8667
TypeRelief sculpture, freestanding sculpture
History
MaterialSandstone, Bronze, Wood
Founded9th–15th centuries CE
Abandoned15th century
CulturesKhmer Empire
Site notes
Excavation datesOngoing since 19th century
ConditionPartially preserved; many in museums
Official nameAngkor
TypeCultural
Criteriai, ii, iii, iv
Designated1992
Reference no.668

Cambodian Sculpture of the Angkor Period

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The sculptural heritage of the Angkorian period (9th to 15th centuries CE) is a central aspect of the Khmer Empire's artistic and religious expression, renowned for its monumental scale, intricate detail, and profound symbolism. These sculptures served as embodiments of divinity, reflecting the religious, political, cultural, and technological contexts of the empire.

Khmer religion in the Angkorian period was a pluralistic mix of Hindu and Buddhist faiths, alongside local earth cults.[1][2] Kings typically supported a primary deity while dedicating some temples to others. Sculptures served politico-religious purposes, asserting the king's influence.[3] The concept of yaśa śarīra (body in the form of fame) linked deity-images to royal ancestors and the reigning king, providing a form of immortality through the perpetuation of dharma.[4]

Materials and Production

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Khmer sculptors utilised a variety of materials, with sandstone being the most favoured for monumental works due to its suitability for carving and permanence.[5][6] The Angkor Wat temple alone used millions of tons of sandstone, transported by river raft from quarries like Phnom Kulen, located 40 kilometres to the northeast.[7] Yasovarman I was the first king to extensively use sandstone in temples at Greater Angkor. However, its universal use in state temples did not become common until nearly a century later, coinciding with increased access to iron.[8] Petrographic analyses show that a specific feldspatholithic sandstone, rich in volcanic detritus from a Triassic sedimentary sequence far from Angkor, was deliberately selected and quarried for Bayon style sculptures under Jayavarman VII.[9] This suggests localised stone sources were exploited for royal sculptures. The carving was often done after blocks were placed in position.[10]

Bronze was another widely used material for sculptures, with inscriptions listing images made of gold, silver, and bronze.[11] The Old Khmer word sa rit suggests sculptures were made from a copper-based or copper alloy believed to possess magical properties related to success, prosperity, and abundance. While precise alloying recipes are difficult to determine due to the likely use of recycled materials, temporal and geographic variations in alloy composition have been identified.[12] For instance, Angkor Wat style sculptures tend to be high in tin, lead, and nickel, while Bayon style sculptures have less lead and varying percentages of tin.[13] Bronze figures of deities like Hevajra were also created.[14] Wood was also a medium for sculpting, though fewer examples survive due to its vulnerability to elements like termites and fire. Large wooden images were often carved in sections and then pieced together, coated with black and red lacquer, and finished with gold leaf.[15]

The production of Angkorian statuary was prodigious, with inscriptions from Preah Khan mentioning that 20,400 statues of precious metals and stone were distributed across the kingdom during Jayavarman VII's reign.[16] This immense scale of production is also evident at other temples like Ta Prohm, which housed hundreds of deities, and Banteay Kdei, where a cache of 274 Buddhist sculpture fragments was excavated. Royal workshops, such as those at Hariharālaya and Angkor Thom, contributed to this output.[17] These findings demonstrate the organized and massive scale of artistic production during the Angkorian period, particularly under Jayavarman VII.[18]

Stylistic Development and Iconography

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Khmer art historians have categorized Angkorian sculpture into distinct styles, often named after principal sites or reigns, and broadly influenced by Indian prototypes.[19][20]

Pre-Angkorian Period (prior to 9th century CE): The earliest known Cambodian stone sculptures are from Phnom Da, dating to the mid-7th century CE. These include images of Vishnu, Balarama, and Rama.[21][22] The style is characterised by its attention to anatomical details, the faces are broad and oval, featuring eyes that are considered to be some of the best rendered in all of Khmer art with skillfully indicated eyelids, tear ducts, irises, and even pupils.[23] These early works demonstrate a high degree of technical skill, with sculptors capable of carving in the round, often using supportive devices like steles, arches, or side supports due to the thinness of the legs.[24]

Angkorian Period (9th to 15th centuries CE):

Bakheng and Koh Ker Styles (10th century): Often described as ‘stiff’. The Bakheng style, associated with Yasovarman I.[25] Temples of this period, such as Phnom Bok, contained statues of Brahma and other deities of the Hindu Trimurti. An inscription also mentions a brahman erecting images of Vishnu and Brahma at Kutisvara.[26] During this century, Jayavarman briefly moved the capital to Koh Ker, building a vast complex of temples.[27] The human sculptures in the round at Koh Ker were similar to those of Bakheng.[28]

Baphuon Style (11th–early 12th century): Characterized by elegant and scrupulous workmanship, with slim bodies, large heads, and a gentle expression. Examples include the colossal reclining Vishnu from the West Mebon Temple and a standing Brahma sculpture, which depicted the Baphuon method of styling the sampot.[29][30][31] The Baphuon temple itself excelled in decoration, and a 13th-century Chinese traveller described it as a tower of brightly shining bronze, possibly due to gilding.[32]

Angkor Wat Style (early–mid 12th century): The art of Angkor Wat, built by Suryavarman II, is characterised by an emphasis on formal beauty, with cult images displaying a rigid and hieratic quality, also evident in bronze figures of the period.[33][34] The temple is renowned for its vast bas-reliefs, extending over 800 meters in the outer gallery, which depicts many images of Vishnu and Suryavarman II.[35] It also contains more than two thousand apsara figures carved in shallow relief, nearly life-sized depictions of celestial nymphs that adorn the walls, doorways, and pillars throughout the monument.[36][37]

Bayon Style (late 12th–early 13th century): Associated with Jayavarman VII's extensive building program, it is known for the “inner life" of its Mahayana Buddhist divinities.[38][39] The Bayon temple features huge, sculptured faces smiling enigmatically from its towers.[40] These faces are interpreted as the Buddha Vajrasattva,[41] or possibly Lokesvara,[42] or even representations of Jayavarman VII himself.[43] Jayavarman VII's reign saw a sandstone revolution and an unprecedented scale of female dancing figures, such as apsaras and yoginī.[44] The king's building program included images of his family as Buddhist devotees and divinities, often referred to as “portrait statues”.[45]

Later History and Conservation

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After the Angkorian period, particularly from the late 13th century, Theravada Buddhism gained importance, leading to changes in statuary, including new iconographic models of the Buddha.[46] Angkor Wat, originally a Vishnu temple, was later transformed into a significant Buddhist pilgrimage site.[47] This involved the addition of Buddha sculptures, sometimes repurposing existing elements, reflecting a practice of conglomeration rather than iconoclasm.[48] Kim argues this reuse of Hindu elements under Buddhism was not merely pragmatic but a deliberate strategy to legitimise new religious authority through established sacred symbols.[49]



References

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  1. ^ Hendrickson & Leroy, 2020.
  2. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  3. ^ Hendrickson & Leroy, 2020.
  4. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  5. ^ Hendrickson, M. & Leroy, S. (2020). Sparks and needles: Seeking catalysts of state expansions, a case study of technological interaction at Angkor, Cambodia (9th to 13th centuries CE). Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 57, 1–20.
  6. ^ Briggs, L. P. (1951). The Ancient Khmer Empire. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 41(1), 1–295.
  7. ^ Chapman, W. (2013). Cambodia: Angkor, the City That Is a Temple. In: A Heritage of Ruins: The Ancient Sites of Southeast Asia and Their Conservation. University of Hawai'i Press, pp. 59–98.
  8. ^ Hendrickson, M. & Leroy, S. (2020). Sparks and needles…
  9. ^ Carò, F. & Douglas, J. G. (2013). Nature and provenance of the sandstone used for Bayon style sculptures produced during the reign of Jayavarman VII. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40, 723–734.
  10. ^ Chapman, W. (2013). Cambodia: Angkor, the City That Is a Temple…
  11. ^ Lavy, P. A. & Polkinghorne, M. (2023). Bodies of Glory: The Statuary of Angkor. In: Mitch Hendrickson et al. (eds.), The Angkorian World. Routledge, pp. 435–458.
  12. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  13. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  14. ^ Chemburkar, S. (2015). Dancing architecture at Angkor: "Halls with dancers" in Jayavarman VII's temples. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 46(3), 514–536.
  15. ^ Diskul, M. S. (1968). Sculptures Khmères, reflets de la civilisation d'Angkor by Madeleine Giteau and Hans Hinz. Review. Artibus Asiae, 30(2/3), 263–266.
  16. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  17. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  18. ^ Chapman, 2013.
  19. ^ Chapman, 2013.
  20. ^ Dowling, N. H. (1999). A New Date for the Phnom Da Images and Its Implications for Early Cambodia. Asian Perspectives, 38(1), 51–61.
  21. ^ Dowling, 1999.
  22. ^ Cooler, R. M. (1978). Sculpture, Kingship, and the Triad of Phnom Da. Artibus Asiae, 40(1), 29–40.
  23. ^ Cooler, 1978.
  24. ^ Czuma, S. (1974). A Masterpiece of Early Cambodian Sculpture. The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 61(4), 119–127.
  25. ^ Diskul, 1968.
  26. ^ Briggs, 1951.
  27. ^ Chapman, 2013.
  28. ^ Briggs, 1951.
  29. ^ Briggs, 1951.
  30. ^ Diskul, 1968.
  31. ^ Kossak, S. (1994). The Arts of South and Southeast Asia. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 51(4), 1–88.
  32. ^ Chapman, 2013.
  33. ^ Diskul, 1968.
  34. ^ Hendrickson & Leroy, 2020.
  35. ^ Chapman, 2013.
  36. ^ Kim, J. (2010). Unfinished Business: Buddhist Reuse of Angkor and its Historical and Political Significance. Artibus Asiae, 70(1), 77–122.
  37. ^ Chapman, 2013.
  38. ^ Ciochon, R. & James, J. (1994). The Glory that was Angkor. Archaeology, 47(2), 38–49.
  39. ^ Diskul, 1968.
  40. ^ Ciochon & James, 1994.
  41. ^ Woodward, H. W. (1981). Tantric Buddhism at Angkor Thom. Ars Orientalis, 12, 57–67.
  42. ^ Ciochon & James, 1994.
  43. ^ Briggs, 1951.
  44. ^ Chemburkar, 2015.
  45. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  46. ^ Lavy & Polkinghorne, 2023.
  47. ^ Kim, 2010.
  48. ^ Kim, 2010.
  49. ^ Kim, 2010.
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