The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2024

Head of a Deity or a Deified King

Head of a Deity or a Deified King

mid-900s
sandstone
Overall: 37.4 cm (14 3/4 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1923.95
Location: 244 Indian and Southeast Asian

Description

The diadem is depicted tied to the intricate tiered headdress worn only by a god or king. Without further attributes, the identity cannot be known. Khmer sculptors of the 10th century emphasized powerful forms and extroverted expressions. The incised pupils suggest that this sculpture underwent the ritual of awakening, in which the eyes were added last. The royal head on the left is from a temple dedicated to Shiva, which was established by the Khmer king Jayavarman IV (928–942) in his remote capital of Koh Ker, 100 miles north of Angkor.
  • Bing, Paris. Discovered by M. Marchal
    ?–1923
    (C.T. Loo 盧芹齋 [1880–1957], Paris, France, and New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1923–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sizer, Theodore. "The New Khmer Head." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 10, no. 6 (June 1923): 113–116. Mentioned: pp. 115–116; Reproduced: cover www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. Mentioned and Reproduced: 47 archive.org
    Groslier, George. Arts et archéologie khmers: revue des recherches sur les arts, les monuments et l'ethnographie du Cambodge, depuis les origines jusqu'à nos jours. v. 2 (1924–1926). Paris: Société d'éditions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales, 1922–1926. Reproduced: Pl. 26, G; Mentioned: p. 238, no. IV, 23
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. Reproduced: p. 59 archive.org
    Czuma, Stanislaw J., "A Cambodian Male Deity", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 36 no. 05, May 1996 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 7 archive.org
  • The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
  • {{cite web|title=Head of a Deity or a Deified King|url=false|author=|year=mid-900s|access-date=22 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1923.95