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.
