Divine Cambodian Bronzes: Fabulous Exhibition in Paris

 

The Musée  Guimet in Paris currently has a splendid exhibition ‘Bronzes Royaux d’Angkor, un Art du Divin’ or ‘Royal Bronzes from Angkor: The Art of the Divine’ on until September 8 (2025).

It is a magnificent exhibition, with some of the best of the holdings of the National Museum of Cambodia along with those of the Guimet itself. The items are beautifully spaced, lit and curated. There is an excellent, comprehensive catalogue (in French only) with very clear images.

Many of the bronzes were cast in a foundry that is now believed to have been under the direct control of the palace.

The most extraordinary bronze in the exhibition is the remnants of a massive image of a laying Vishnu (shown here above) which would have lain in a temple in the middle of a lake. Originally, it would have been gilded and possibly decorated with stones and enamelling. The exhibition includes extraordinary video footage of how the image must have looked in its original state. The bronze has been brought for the exhibition to Paris from the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.

The Musée National des arts Asiatiques-Guimet in Paris (known more usually as the Musée  Guimet), is France’s premier museum devoted to Asian art and material culture.

Above: Image of Maitreya, bronze, early 10th century

 

Above: Image of either Vishnu or Vishvakarman, bronze, 8th century

 

Above: Shive in the form of either Sadashiva or Bhairava, bronze, 8th century

 

Above: Image of Vishnu Kurmavatara(?), bronze, 8th century

 

Above: Image of Vajrasattva, bronze, 7th century

 

Above: Model Buddha stupa, bronze, 8th century

 

Above: Ritual conch and stand, bronze, 8th-9th century

 

Above: Image of Prajnaparamita, bronze, 7th century

 

Above: Mould to make votive clay plaques with a central figure of Hevajra, bronze, 7th-8th century

 

Above: Image of the standing Buddha, bronze, 7th century

 

Above: Detail of the anklets on an image of Lokeshvara, bronze, 7th-8th century

 

Above: The remnants of the massive image of Vishnu which probably was cast laying on a snake (Vishnu Anantashayin), bronze, 11th century

 

© Michael Backman

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