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Bust of Hevajra

late 12th–early 13th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 249
This colossal bust of the Esoteric Buddhist god Hevajra comes from the ruins of the ancient site of Angkor in northwestern Cambodia. It is said to have been found near the East Gate (the Gate of the Dead) of the great walled city of Angkor Thom, built by Jayavarman VII (r. 1181–1219). The Bayon, sited at the very center of Angkor Thom, was one of the last major monuments of the Khmer empire.

This sculpture is fragmentary. The top head is missing. If the sculpture was, in fact, intended to represent the dancing Hevajra, it would have had eight arms on each side. Quite a few small bronze sculptures confirm this depiction. To judge from the rough surface of parts of this sculpture, it was never completed.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bust of Hevajra
  • Period: Angkor period
  • Date: late 12th–early 13th century
  • Culture: Cambodia
  • Medium: Stone
  • Dimensions: H. 52 in. (132.1 cm); W. 29 in. (73.7 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1936
  • Object Number: 36.96.4
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

Audio

Cover Image for 8013. Bust of Hevajra, Part 1

8013. Bust of Hevajra, Part 1

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This fragmentary bust has seven heads—each wearing an enigmatic smile. The four large lower heads face the four directions. Those on the upper tier face the front and sides. Originally, an eighth, small head facing the front crowned the sculpture. Eight heads identify this as the sixteen-armed Tantric Buddhist deity Hevajra.

Like much art work from the Angkor period, this heroic sculpture reflects the style of the king’s temple-mountain: the principal shrine in his cult as a deified king. It’s in a style associated with the Bayor—the great temple-mountain at Angkor Thom, built in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries by King Jayavarman the Seventh. Most Khmer images of Hevajra show him dancing.

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More Artwork

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