The Khmer civilization, today embodied by the
temples and ruins of Angkor, one of mankind's
most astonishing and enduring architectural
achievements and the largest religious
monument in the world, flourished from 802-
1431 A.D. From the great citadel of Angkor, the
kings of the Khmer empire ruled over a vast
domain that reached from what is now southern
Vietnam to Yunan, China and from Vietnam
westward to the Bay of Bengal. The original city
was built around the Phnom Bakeng, a temple on
a hill symbolizing the mountain that stands in
the center of the world according to Hindu
cosmology. Successive kings enlarged the city,
building other temples devoted to various Hindu
deities and large reservoirs used for irrigation,
which also symbolized the ocean surrounding
the holy central mountain. The most celebrated
of the Angkor temple complexes is Angkor Wat,
constructed under King Suryavarman II (reigned
1113-1150).
Buddhist works of art such as this beautiful
bronze Buddha often have symbolic elements
that relate to the very early stages in the
development of this highly complex religion.
Elements of nature were an integral part of the
early religions of India. The roots of Buddhism
formed an alliance with these ancient popular
cults of the soil and nature, including nature-
spirits. In this example, the bronze Buddha sits
on the artistically shaped body of a Naga, the
ancient Indian spirit of water that takes the form
of a cobra. As the head of the snake forms a
dramatic nimbus around the upper portion of the
Buddha, individual serpent heads frame the
Buddha's expressive face. The Buddhist religion
spread throughout the east and nowhere is the
artistic rendering of this spiritual religion more
expressive than in the 12th and 13th century
Khmer culture of Cambodia. This bronze Buddha
illustrates the unique artistic craftsmanship of
the Khmer. It is boldly expressive in form yet
delicate in its sensibility. Graceful and powerful
at once, the combined images of Buddha and
Naga capture both the aesthetic and spiritual
elements of our very soul.
- (FZ.379)
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