Stone Description

The ancient Khmers used varied materials for sculpture, including: stone, wood and stucco. Each material reflects a supreme knowledge of carving with the movement, beauty and decor of sculptures dependent on the sculptors' creativity. Khmer sculpture is divided into freestanding, bas-relief, and high-relief categories. Two kinds of stone were used, schist and sandstone (black, red, grey, and white). Most of the religious sculpture was carved in sandstone. There are virtually no traces left today of the techniques and tools used. The technique for maintaining the equilibrium of stone sculptures differed according to the style. In the pre-Angkorian period (VIth-VIIIth centuries), the sculptors used support props like the horseshoe arc. A good example is the Visnu with four arms (no. 1). They also used the lower edges of the ‘sampot’ (skirt) and tenons projecting from the base for stability. In the Angkor period (IXth-XIIIth centuries), supports were abandoned. The ancient Khmers left many masterpieces of Brahmanist and Buddhist divinities for their religious practices. In this sense, Khmer ‘art’ consists of images that are expressions of religious beliefs. The principle figures of Hinduism in Khmer art are: Brahma, Visnu, and Siva (these gods make up the Brahmanic trinity); the incarnations of Visnu: Krsna, Rama, Balarama, & etc.; Harihara (a syncretist image of Visnu and Siva) and other secondary figures such as Garuda (the mount of Visnu), Nandin (the mount of Siva) and mythological birds. In Buddhism, the main image is the figure of Buddha and the numerous stories connected with his life (for the Lesser Vehicle), and the Bodhisattva Lokesvara and Prajnaparamita (for the Greater Vehicle). As part of the works of art cited above, there are many bas-reliefs, which depict different stories of the gods, as well as historic events and the ordinary of lives of the people. Most of these are related to architectural decor (lintels, pediments) and bas-reliefs on the walls of temples.

LINTEL

Material: Pink Sandstone

Dimensions: H: 82 cm L: 186 cm 

Date: 3rd quarter of the Xth century

Provenance: Sralao Temple (central sanctuary) (Siem Reap)

Collection: National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh

C.346 C.30.32 Ka.1819

Generally in Khmer architecture, the lintel is a placed rectangular piece of stone supported by columns and above the doorway of the temple. There are two types of lintels: the floral lintel and one that depicts a scene. The lintel is also an element for dating a temple - even the pediments and columns can be used for this purpose.

This lintel is a masterpiece dated to the Banteay Srei style. The elegance and refinement of ornamentation highlight sculptors’ techniques at the apogee of Khmer art. The upper frieze is decorated with dancing figures in the undulating arc of the pediment. They wear the ‘sampot can kbin’, mitre (mukuta) and pose using the same gesture. The base of this frieze is decorated with a row of stylized lotus motifs, which are typically Khmer. Above this, a row of floral motifs called ‘Lum ang chhouk’ or, ‘row of double lotus petals and stamens of the lotus’.

The central motif represents Visnu mounted on Garuda. 

This motif reveals a certain realism in Khmer art by the movement of Garuda’s wings. By holding the right foot of Visnu he steadies and supports him; Visnu has four arms with four attributes. The deity wears the ‘sampot can kbin’ with the same ornaments as his mount.

This lintel has two symmetrical parts through a vertical axis that reveals one Khmer theory for decorative art.

The foliage branch of this lintel is composed of two symmetrical naga bodies. Each body is shaped like an inverse ‘U’ and decorated with small heads of a three headed naga. Additionally, each extremity of the branch has a Garuda carrying in his mouth a large three- headed naga head (facing outward from the central motif) that transforms into a large leaf very similar to the others in the decoration above the branch (the naga’s body). The tendrils make up the pseudo-tympanum.

 

“The entire composition has a rhythm and lyricism that typify Banteay Srei carving, a perfection that has survived almost intact because of the high quality of the sandstone medium.”

© 2018 សារមន្ទីរជាតិកម្ពុជា National Museum of Cambodia