KHMER, BAYON PERIOD, 12TH/13TH CENTURY

Details

A Ritual Conch with Stand
Khmer, Bayon Period, 12th/13th Century
The conch well cast with floral tip and spiraling bands with a dancing Hevajra flanked by donors and surrounded by cobras issuing from the mouths of makaras with kirttimukha masks below, the reverse decorated with leafy scrolls terminating in a garuda supported on a three-legged stand with s-curved feet terminating in garudas
The conch: 11¾ in. (29.8 cm.) wide (2)

Provenance

Bequeathed to the present owner by his grandfather in 1960

Lot Essay

Primarily associated with the Hindu god Vishnu, the conch was used in both Hindu and Buddhist rituals in Cambodia from the late 12th century onwards when a syncretic theology, incorporated from various beliefs, was developed as a result of the last of the great devarajas, Jayavarman VII, converting to Buddhism. Conches were used both as musical instruments and as receptacles for holy water; cf. also lot 128.

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