Statuette of a Goddess
Statuette of a Goddess
Place of OriginCambodia
Dateearly 12th century
DimensionsOverall: 19 1/8 in. (48.6 cm)
MediumSandstone
ClassificationSculpture
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1961.5
Not on View
DescriptionSandstone statue of a standing female figure, head and both arms missing. The figure wears a long, close-fitting skirt with a narrow, folded-over waistband extending across the hips and a distinct front panel decorated with incised vertical lines and bordered with beaded and foliate motifs. A broad belt features vertically oriented motifs and small pendants. The breasts are modest; shoulders are square with minimal anatomical detail. The navel sits in a shallow depression. The back is plain, with a faint spinal groove.
Label TextThe Khmer People dominated Southeast Asia from the 9th through the 15th centuries, centered in Cambodia. They developed styles of architecture and sculpture uniquely their own. The Khmer religion was a mixture and modification of Hinduism and Buddhism; this fragmentary statue probably represents a Hindu goddess. An example of Cambodian sculptural style at its height, the sensuous torso and the strong sculptural treatment of the skirt the goddess wears are indicative of the refined, elegant art of the region of Angkor, where the Khmer empire was based (see also the balustrade ornament from the same region in this gallery). The sculpture exudes a sense of majesty and austere serenity and clearly shows the artist’s interest in detail and volume.Published ReferencesBoisselier, Jean, “Note au sujet de la statue Kmhère de la collection de Mr. O. J. Tj. N. Domëla Nieuwenhuis,” Bulletin Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst, Third Series, no. 9, December 1957, pp. 142-144, ill.
Before 1880
about 150 CE
750-650 BCE
18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE), about 1397-1360 BCE
about 1100-1200
Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)
Late 2nd or early 3rd century CE
18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE), about 1397-1360 BCE
18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE), about 1397-1360 BCE
Late 16th-13th century BCE
21st–31st Dynasties (1069–332 BCE) or Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)
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