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Vishnu

first half of the 9th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
In the late eighth century, the Khmer king Jayavarman II moved his capital from Vyadhpura, likely in eastern Cambodia, to Hariharalaya (modern Roluos). In 802 he performed a consecration ceremony (abhisheka) on Phnom Kulen, a mountain plateau northeast of the Tonle Sap lake, a early religious center of the Khmer royal household. A series of single-cell brick sanctuary temples on Phnom Kulen built during his reign are associated with a small corpus of important sculptures, including this Vishnu. Stylistically, it marks the moment of transition from the pre-Angkorian world to the beginnings of the Angkorian period.

cat. no. 79

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Vishnu
  • Date: first half of the 9th century
  • Culture: Central Cambodia
  • Medium: Sandstone
  • Dimensions: H. (incl. tenon) 74 13/16 in. (190 cm); W. 22 7/16 in. (57 cm); D. 8 11/16 in. (22 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Lent by Musée National des Arts Asiatiques–Guimet, Paris (MG18860)
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art