Sculpture Of Angkor And Ancient Cambodia

The thousand-year artistic legacy of Cambodia includes some of the world's mostbeautiful works of art and architecture. This richly illustrated volume, published to coincide with an exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Art and the Réunion des Musées Nationnaux, examines the powerful and original Khmer culture that flourished on the mainland of Southeast Asia between 600 and 1600 A.D. Centered on the northern shores of Cambodia's Great Lake, the Tonle Sap, and extending westward into eastern Thailand, the civilization reached its apogee in the early twelfth century with the construction of the Temple of Angkor. Embracing both Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the sculpture ranges from monumental works in sandstone representing gods and goddesses, guardians, female dancers, and legendary creatures, to refined ritual and ceremonial bronzes. Essays by an international group of scholars together with narrative discussions of each of the works illustrated provide a fascinating introduction to a culture that is still relatively unknown.

This book unravels the formation of the modern concept of cultural heritage by charting its colonial, postcolonial-nationalist and global trajectories. By bringing to light many unresearched dimensions of the twelfth-century Cambodian temple of Angkor Wat during its modern history, the study argues for a conceptual, connected history that unfolded within the transcultural interstices of European and Asian projects. With more than 1,400 black-and-white and colour illustrations of historic photographs, architectural plans and samples of public media, the monograph discusses the multiple lives of Angkor Wat over a 150-year-long period from the 1860s to the 2010s. Volume 1 (Angkor in France) reconceptualises the Orientalist, French-colonial ‘discovery’ of the temple in the nineteenth century and brings to light the manifold strategies at play in its physical representations as plaster cast substitutes in museums and as hybrid pavilions in universal and colonial exhibitions in Marseille and Paris from 1867 to 1937. Volume 2 (Angkor in Cambodia) covers, for the first time in this depth, the various on-site restoration efforts inside the ‘Archaeological Park of Angkor’ from 1907 until 1970, and the temple’s gradual canonisation as a symbol of national identity during Cambodia’s troublesome decolonisation (1953–89), from independence to Khmer Rouge terror and Vietnamese occupation, and, finally, as a global icon of UNESCO World Heritage since 1992 until today.

Angkor: A Tour of the Monuments, is a slim paperback volume on the art and architecture of the temple complexes of Angkor. Tracing the history of Angkor Wat from its beginnings in legend to its early incarnation as a centre of Hindu worship, before its transition in the 14th century to a major landmark of Buddhist architecture, author Thierry Zephir uncovers the layers of history buried beneath the ruins of Angkor, first guiding readers through Angkor Wat before bringing them to Angkor Thom, as well as the areas surrounding Angkor where lesser-known but equally intriguing structures still stand. The book consists of a rich visual array of photographs which illustrate both the vastness of the ancient complex as well as the intricacies of the stonework within. Picture spreads are testament to the extensive nature of Angkor's temples, while close-ups reveal the infinite detail that is inherent throughout. Individual chapters are devoted to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, while two further chapters, 'Around Angkor Thom' and 'Away from Angkor', focus on the ruins in the landscape around the region. Pictures in each section are prefaced by well-researched texts which furnish the reader with historical information, placing the buildings against a backdrop of larger developments and trends in ancient Cambodian history and culture. The author illuminates each photograph in unstinting detail, bringing acclaimed photographer Luca Invernizzi Tettoni's pictures to life with expert knowledge. Angkor: A Tour of the Monuments proves to be an invaluable reference source for serious readers of the subject as well as for those wishing to acquaint themselves for the first time with one of Cambodia's most important monuments.