Figure13. Rajendradevi or Gauri
Western sanctuary, southern side, Lolei temple,
Roluos, Siem Reap
H: 150 cm
Ka. 1645 B. 289 B. 42, 4
Acquired by the museum in October 1920
The Khmer language inscription carved on the pier of
one of Lolei temple’s sanctuaries tells us that King Yasovarman erected statues
of Siva and his wife as representations of his maternal grandparents.
The sculpture of Siva’s wife located in the western
sanctuary is commonly called Rajendradevi. But according to another
inscription, written in Sanskrit, this deity is Siva’s wife Gauri, goddess of
beauty.
Some researchers have suggested it might be a 12th
copy of Queen Rajendradevi. The artist copied the original 9th century-style
of the body and followed 12th century fashion for the hairstyle.
Indeed, the diadem and the chignon cover are similar to 12th century
designs.
The cylindrical chignon cover is adorned with trabak
chhouk, or lotus petals, in five concentric and decreasing circles. The
diadem is divided into three sections. Ium ang chhouk (lotus stamen)
designs decorate the lower section. In thecenter are phka chan rosettes
and haft-rosettes positioned inside lozenges and haft-lozenges. The upper
section is decorated with stylized lotus petals called trabak chhouk bambek.
The face shows combed hair on the side of the
forehead, sharp eyebrows that are continuous, a thin nose, a short chin and
long ear lobes. This is a balanced beauty; the folds of her neck and below her
round breasts are sings of good health.
Rajendradevi wears a classical Preah Ko style
sampot, worn folded over the stomach and the triangular fold over the left hip.
The sampot is draped below the navel to show the soft, rounded beauty of the
stomach.
The artists used large parallel strokes to show the
lengthwise fold, the folded edge and the triangular fold. Women’s sampot at the
time were either straight or pleated.
This statue of Rajendradevi shows that after her
death, the queen was considered to be a Brahmanic goddess under the reign of
Yasovarman.
Figure14. Headless body of Durga
Bakong temple, Roluos, Siem Reap
H: 10 cm
Ka. 1803 B. 327 B. 712
Acquired by the museum on 6 October 1931
This Durga retains part of her two left arms. She is
dressed in the same style as Rajendradevi.
The surface is badly damaged by the flaking of the
stone.
Figure15. Headless body of female deity
Unknown origin. Property of the Conservation
d’Angkor
H: 92 cm
Ka. 2986 DCA:3555
This deity’s body shows the healthy robustness of
Khmer women.
The sampot is flat and flared at the bottom. The
sampot is folded at the waist in a flat band.
Figure16. Laksmi
Unknown origin
H: 48 cm
Ka. 802 cm
This elegant deity is standing in the middle of a
male and female who are kneeling in an attitude of prayer. The praying figures
are positioned symmetrically on each side of the deity’s body median axis. Both
join their hands above their head.
Even in the absence of identifying attributes, we
can assume this deity with the broken arms is Laksmi, as she is standing on top
of a plinth decorated in stylized lotus designs. Laksmi’s name is ‘Padma’,
which means lotus. She is the goddess of beauty and fortune.
Her pleated sampot shows the same details and draping
style as that of other goddesses from the Preah Ko style.
Figure17. Torso of ffemale deity
Unknown orgin. Property of the Conversation
d’Angkor
H: 43 cm
Ka. 2972 DCA: 39890
From this torso, we can deduct the standing
position, slightly bent at the hip, of the sculpture. Even though it is badly
damaged, the beauty of this torso
remains obvious; the rounded breasts, set close together, form a central line
and the folds beneath the breasts are visible. The elements have been carved in
a realistic style.
Te waist of the sampot is still visible. It looks
like a belt, even a scarf, flat and smooth.
Figure18. Four-arm body of Durga
Bos Preah Nan, Kampong Speu
H: 59 cm
Ka. 1652 B. 71 B.712, 4
This is the second Preah Ko style example of a
pleated sampot and is similar to other goddesses but it is worth noting the
appearance of a flat and smooth section of cloth on the left side of the
garment.
