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8. Head of a Female goddess Cambodia, Kleang early 11th c. sandstone height 35 cm. |
This majestic life-size head is most likely one of the popular female deities of Hinduism - either Lakshmi, goddess of fortune and sakti (female energy) of Vishnu, or Parvati, the goddess of the universe and sakti of Shiva. Its dimensions suggest it may have been created as one of the large monumental sculptures, carved fully in the round, that embellished the royal complex in Kleang. The head is depicted with fine arched eyebrows and carefully outlined mouth, and eyes. The nose is slightly broad, a continuation of Bakong aesthetics. The elongated ears connote royalty, being the result of wearing heavy gold ear pendants that stretch the lobes. Though now partly lost they still bear signs of the piercing that would originally have accommodated real jewellery. The goddess’s hair is finely arranged in individual strands and curls and worked into a high chignon. She wears a superbly designed tiered crown, topped with a lotus bud. The high and elaborate diadem has a complex decoration with an exquisitely rendered design that incorporates scrolling arabesque floral forms and small decoratively shaped medallions, a standard motif in tenth-century Khmer art. The Kleang era extended from the reign of Jayavarman V (968-1001) to that of Suryavarman I (1004-1050). Among the major achievements of the latter were an expansion of the capital at Angkor and the construction of the Phimeanakas, which comprised a consistent row of similar shaped temples called Kleangs. Predating the classical style of Baphuon, the Kleang style still displays stylistic characteristics of Pre Rup in the late tenth-century. The crown has similar stylistic traits in construction and has finely carved details. The face, however, has become more human than was common in preceding eras. The nose has a realistic shape and the contours of the lips and eyes are clearly defined. Sculpture in the Kleang style is rare: only a handful of similar examples are known in museums. The aesthetic qualities of this impressive head derive from the harmonious balance of volume, the beautiful contours, the skilfully modelled diadem and features, and the fine polished hard stone surface which is complemented with a beautiful natural patina. The goddess’s full, rounded face wears a sensual but restrained smile that gives her an air of charm and dignified liveliness. The head is a rare and magnificent life-size example of the Kleang style, a Khmer ideal of female beauty. Provenance: Nathan L. Halpern collection, USA, collected in 1985. Exhibited Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990's. Art Loss Register Certificate, Reference S00003680. N . Dalsheimer, Les collections du musée de Phnom Penh, L’art du Cambodge ancien, Paris, 2001, p.128, n°54. Cambodia, Brahma, Khleang style, second half of the 10th century, height 110 cm, National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Ka 1669. H . Jessup and T. Zéphir, Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia, Millennium of Glory, Washington D.C. National Gallery of Art, 1997, n°57. Cambodia, Standing image of Shiva, late10th-early 11th century, height 107 cm, Musée Guimet, Paris, MA 3431. |