Male Deity
Unknown Artist
925–50
Medium
sandstone
Dimensions
h. 135 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1994.202
About this artwork
The distinctive swath of pleated cloth and the anchor-shaped ends of the lower garment suggest that this sculpture was made when this method of wrapping the sampot was fashionable. During that time, Cambodian temples were dedicated to Hindu deities, whose images were dramatically installed alone on a pedestal in a temple's sanctum. When consecrated, gold tokens were installed under the pedestal; many sculptures were broken when people toppled them to get the gold.