CAMBODIA, KHMER, ANGKOR WAT PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY

This female torso is a good illustration of the archaistic style, with dry and slightly stiff modelling that characterises sculptures from the Angkor Wat period of the 12th century. The skirt’s long sash ending in a fishtail shape almost touches the border of the sampot, which is a hallmark for examples from this period. In later examples the belt is carved with a different motif, forming a double row of ovals enclosed by two strings of small beads, as visible on the present statue; although this female torso stands apart from the abundant and often stereotyped production of this period. For a comparable example kept in the Musée Guimet see P. Baptiste and T. Zephir, L’Art Khmer dans les Collections du Musée Guimet, Paris, 2008, pl. 66.