Riverstone Bowl with Succulant
Angkor Wat Statues: Religious Artistry At Its Finest
Angkor Wat statues are renowned for being one of the most intricate works of religious art. The Angkor Wat temple complex, which is home to these delicately sculpted statues, is situated to the northwest part of Cambodia. The statues themselves can be seen on almost all surfaces within the temple complex, including the lintels, columns and roofs.
Apart from Cambodia, this particular architectural style is found only in Kandariya Mahadeva Temple at Khajuraho and Taj Mahal in Agra.
Origin of Angkor Wat Statues
The great King Suryavaram II constructed this temple to create a mausoleum for himself. It is located in Angkor, the capital city of the Khmer Empire.
When the temple was first built, it honored Lord Vishnu, the Hindu god and served as His shrine. However, sometime in the late 14th century, Angkor Wat was converted into a Theravada Buddhist temple.
Overflowing with classical Khmer architecture, the Angkor Wat Temple is one of the finest treasures of Cambodia. In fact, it is so important to the Cambodians that they consider it to be a representative of their country. A silhouette of the Angkor Wat is even visible on the Cambodian national flag.
Distinctive Features of Ankor Wat
The architectural artifacts discovered from the temple site were displayed in Paris, in 1867. These statues won many hearts in the world of ancient architecture, and this prompted the United Nations to declare Angkor Wat a UN World Heritage Site in 1992.
Constructed using an estimated 6 to 10 million blocks of sandstone weighing 1.5 tons each, this temple is an epitome of architectural finesse and artistry. Archaeologists have discovered that there were more stones in the temple complex than in all the Egyptian pyramids combined. Some of the most talented architects of Southeast Asia worked together to create this magnificent structure.
The Khmer kings had built the temple to become immortal by being in vicinity of Lord Vishnu and other prominent deities, who they believed possessed spiritual powers that could make the king live forever.
The construction of the temple was based on Indian cosmology. Later on, Angkor Wat was constructed to serve as a gigantic tomb for the remains of King Suryavarman. He wanted to become immortal with the blessings of Lord Vishnu, who he has dedicated the temple too.
Construction of the Angkor Wat Temple & Statues
The Angkor Wat statues are deeply ingrained inside the temple, which is built on an elevated ground and is surrounded by a man-made moat. The symmetrical design of the temple is laid on tiered platforms that rise up to one of the quincunxes in the central tower.
Humongous porches join the towers at each level. Surrounded by concentric rings of rectangular galleries, these porches depicted the high-end sophistication and artistic fluency of the architects back then.
The Angkor Wat statues found inside the temple are in the form of bas-relief friezes. These depict scenes of Indian mythology in immense details. In addition to a series of animal and human figures, the long list of fine sculptural architecture also includes carvings of unicorns, winged dragons, griffins, lions, dancing girls, warriors, garudas and numerous minor and major Hindu gods.
Some sculptures represent a few historic events such as Cambodia’s war against its foreign invaders while other statues reveal the normal everyday life of the Khmer people. In addition to reliefs, Angkor Wat statues also include numerous sculptures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
The artisans who worked on these Angkor Wat Statues were arguable some of the most skilled sculptors in the region. This is evident in the meticulous detail that can be seen in the garments, headdress, jewelry, posture and hairstyles of the various human figures and deities. What’s even more interesting is that the details on each sculpture reveal a lot about the personal imagination of its sculptor.