A large stone head of a 'Radiating Avalokiteshvara'

KHMER, BAYON STYLE, 13TH CENTURY

Details

A large stone head of a 'Radiating Avalokiteshvara'
Khmer, Bayon style, 13th Century
The head well carved with a serene expression, the broad mouth with a gentle smile beneath the rounded nose and downcast eyes, the vertical third eye incised on the forehead, the hair outlined with a plain border and incised with a pattern of curls, rising to a cylindrical topknot centered by an image of Amitabha
15 in. (39.4 cm.) high

Lot Essay

King Jayavarman VII (r. 1181-1219) was a devout Buddhist during whose reign an unprecedented amount of new temples were constructed, specifically the Bayon. Considered a god-king, he associated himself not only with Buddha, but also with the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The similarity of the facial features of 'Radiant Avalokiteshvaras', such as the present example, with the known portraits of Jayavarman is often striking. Compare the Bayon period stone figure of a 'Radiating Avalokiteshvara', in: Treasures from The National Museum Bangkok, 1987, cat. no. 35, with a similarly incised 'third eye'; and another in the collection of the Muse Guimet, Paris, lacking the third eye, see H. Jessup and T. Zephir (ed.), Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia, Millenium of Glory, 1997, cat. no. 98.