STONE HEAD OF JAYAVARMAN
Inspired by the putative head of Jayavarman VII from Preah Khan Temple of Kompong Svay; Bayon period (late XIIth, early XIIIth century), National Museum of Phnom Penh. The last of the great kings of Cambodia, Jayavarman VII was a very religious monarch. Since Jayavarman II (IXth century) the kings have been of Shaivism religion. Jayavarman VII decided to impose Mahayana Buddhism as the official state religion. On a philosophical side his reign was characterized by the construction of the union of the divine self; each individual is the incarnation of its favourite divinity during life, and after death. This union of the divine self ends when the King appears under the form of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara “the Lord of Compassion”. This fascination for the image of compassion is characterized at the end of the XIIth century by an important production of putative portraits of the king as Bodhisattva, but also in a more naturalist way, as himself. These numerous effigies widespread all over the Kingdom bring to the extreme, ‘the art of the portrait’ initiated by its predecessors.
Reference: 1711 | Dimensions: 59kgs - 42.5 x 28.5 x 31.7
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