Khmer Sculpture, Reliefs and Craftsmanship

Across Cambodia, Khmer patrons commissioned stone sculpture, temple reliefs and bronze figures for Hindu and Buddhist settings. The works changed from the ninth through the fifteenth centuries as royal building programs and temple worship changed. Sculptors and casters adapted designs to the material, the building and the position from which worshippers encountered an image.

On this page4 sections

Images made for sanctuaries

A temple image was designed for a particular sacred setting. Shiva could appear as a linga, a stone emblem set on a base, while Vishnu and Buddhist figures were represented in human form. Vishnu is often identified by his disc and by Garuda, the bird who serves as his mount. Garuda may appear beside the god or beneath him, making the divine relationship visible within the image.

Khmer stone figures were often carved in the round. Sculptors sometimes left a narrow bridge of stone between a projecting arm and the torso to strengthen a vulnerable limb. Belts, necklaces, bracelets, garment folds and headdresses finished the surface and clarified the figure. Tenth-century works at Koh Ker include large figures in motion, including wrestlers and the monkey kings Valin and Sugriva. Eleventh-century Baphuon-style figures often have slimmer bodies and supports behind the ankles; some eyes were incised to receive gems or metal. Twelfth-century Angkor Wat figures tend toward upright, muscular bodies with elaborate belts and jewelry.

Reliefs built into temple walls

At Prasat Kravan, built in 921, sculptors carved images of Vishnu directly into the brick interiors of the towers. One relief shows Vishnu with Garuda; another depicts Trivikrama, the form in which Vishnu strides across the cosmos. The brick wall itself became the image surface, unlike a freestanding statue set before a wall.

At Bayon, built for Jayavarman VII at Angkor in present-day Cambodia at the end of the twelfth century, outer-gallery reliefs place royal processions and battles beside scenes of markets, cooking, fishing and child care. Their position along the galleries let visitors encounter political and domestic scenes while moving around the temple. Later inner galleries carry Hindu narrative imagery, giving the monument a layered visual program.

Casting and repairing a monumental bronze

The eleventh-century reclining Vishnu associated with West Mebon was made by lost-wax casting. A wax model supplied the statue’s form inside a mould; heating melted out the wax, leaving a cavity for molten bronze. The enormous figure was cast in sections and assembled with metal fittings. Technical examination identified copper patches and added casting used to repair flaws. Craftsmen also applied gold mixed with mercury and heated it to leave a thin gilded surface. The statue is now represented by separate fragments held in museums.

An eleventh-century foundry excavated beside Angkor’s royal palace preserves a different part of this work. Furnace debris, crucible fragments, mould pieces and metalworking waste document casting and hammering. A crucible is a heat-resistant vessel used to melt metal; its fragments are evidence of workshop activity, even when the finished objects have not survived.

A later change at Bayon

Bayon’s religious program changed after Jayavarman VII’s reign. In the thirteenth century, during the Hindu restoration under Jayavarman VIII, a Shiva image was likely added in the eastern gallery of the southern section, while Buddhist imagery was removed or altered elsewhere in the temple. The new image’s placement made the change visible within a gallery originally built under a Buddhist king. This alteration links a dated royal shift in worship to a specific part of the building.