Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia

Edited by Louise Allison Cort and Paul Jett

May 2010
ISBN 978-974-9511-93-0
160 pp, 190 x 305 mm (7 x 12 in), paperback
exhibition catalogue with 120 illustrations, 60 in color
THB 1300

Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia celebrates the accomplishments of Khmer bronze casters and their perfection of skill and aesthetic expression over nearly two millennia. A key focus of the book and exhibition is the museum’s Metals Conservation Laboratory, which was designed and equipped with guidance from the Freer and Sackler Galleries’ Department of Conservation and Scientific Research. Highlights include the first project to be undertaken by the new laboratory—the treatment of an important cache of seven early Buddhist bronze images, including two works from China, that vividly represent the interactions of artistic styles and religious traditions in Cambodia in the sixth and seventh centuries. Discovered in 2006, the seven newly conserved images will be presented outside Cambodia for the first time in the Gods of Angkor exhibition.

About the Editors

Louise Allison Cort is Curator of Ceramics at the Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Paul Jett is Head of the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Contents

• Foreword by Hab Touch, Director, National Museum of Cambodia
• Foreword by Julian Raby, Director, Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
• Acknowledgments
• Sponsors
• Map
• Bronze Drums, Urns, and Bells in the Early Metal Age of Southeast Asia / Ian C. Glover
• Bronze Sculptures of Ancient Cambodia / Hiram Woodward
• A Technical Study of the Kompong Cham Figure Group / Paul Jett
• Angkorian Metalwork in the Temple Setting: Icons, Architectural Adornment, and Ritual Paraphernalia / John Guy
• Illustrated exhibition checklist
• Endnotes
• Suggested reading
• Glossary
• List of contributors
• Photo credits