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The evolution of the Preah Neang Deví


Under the combined influence of Brahmanism and Buddism, Khmer art became a religious art that focuses essentially on two mediums, architecture and statuary.

To better understand the evolution of the Preah Neang Devi, it is necessary to study them in both these fields.

Jean Boisselier demonstrated that, ‘Khmer architectural design evolved along different lines than Indian conception’. The same goes for the statuary. Khmer artists did not slavishly imitate Indian art, but rather they developed their own art form based on their own sensibility, language and canons of beauty.

A number of works from this exhibit have already been displayed abroad, in Australia, France, the USA and Japan; the other works exhibited have been taken out of the storerooms for the first time.

The objects have been listed by style. However, there are no female statues from the Phnom Da and Kuken styles.

Some of the female deities, such as Queen Rajendradevi and the kneeling Prajnaparamita, presented some slight damages on their faces. They were restored to their original appearance to maintain their status as queens.

The Preah Neang Devi is listed into two categories, the adorned ones and the ones that are not. The adorned Preah Neang Devi wears necklaces, bracelets, bangles and anklets and wears a mukuta on their head.

During the Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian eras, the image of Preah Neang Devi wear full-length sampots (skirts), while the male deities were the ‘sampot changkhbin’, a rectangular piece of cloth that covers the lower part of the body, from the hips down. The sampot is tied at the front and the cloth is then rolled and slid between the legs before it is attached at the back.

There are some exceptions. In the style of Sambor Prei Kuk, Vsnu wear a full-length sampot and the Vat Ang Khna lintel male characters from the Prei Khmeng style wear short clothes.

All the sculptures of female deities are bare-breasted. It is likely that, beyond the fashion requirements, the artists wanted to show the beauty of the breasts, the folds underneath the breasts, the stomach and the navel.
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