Female sculptures from the Baphuon-era of the Khmer Empire

Female sculptures from the Baphuon-era of the Khmer Empire have a distinctive grace and charm and two such statues are in the collection to be found at the Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap. The Baphuon style lasted for much of the 11th century, when sculptures saw a reduction in size, though the period arguably offers the high-point in the depiction of the female form, drawing on the developments of the previous century and introducing further refinements. It’s no surprise that the world record for a Khmer sculpture was set in 2008 at US$2.1 million for a sandstone statue, known as the Baphuon Uma, and sold by Christie’s auction house. The few females to have survived and retained their heads, rarely retain their arms, hands with attributes and feet, which makes specific identification of which goddess they are, very difficult. Most often, they are attributed to either Uma, the wife of Shiva, or Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. The two statues on display at the museum are recognized simply as female deities. The two goddesses are quite similar in style, modeling an ankle-length sampot with finely incised parallel pleats, secured by a decorated belt and an ornately-tied knot. The front of the dress dips to reveal the navel and abdomen yet rises above the waist at the back. The lower edge of a frontal vertical fold spreads out in the shape of a fishtail. The breasts are firm and close together, a sign of youth, while the hair is finely braided and tied high into a domed bun and secured with a band of carved beads. The smaller of the two statues has a slightly bulbous lower half of her hairstyle, while her sensitive face has narrow twice-incised almond-shaped eyes and full lips. For both, pierced earlobes, though damaged, would’ve held removable earrings. The taller of the two sculptures, at 90 centimeters, was previously in the collection of the National Museum in Phnom Penh before being loaned to the Angkor museum in 2007. There is no record of where the statue was originally found. The smaller female is identified as coming from Angkor Wat and was in the Angkor Conservation depot before being added to the museum display.