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RARE STATUE D’UMA EN GRES
CAMBODGE, KHMER, EPOQUE KOH KER,
XEME SIECLE

Elle est représentée debout en samabhanga sur un
piédestal rectangulaire, ses mains en vitarkamudra.
Elle est vêtue d’un sampot plissé. Son visage est serein,
un sourire mystérieux se dessine sur ses lèvres. Ses
cheveux sont coifés en chignon tenu par une tiare.
Hauteur : 113 cm. (44Ω in.), avec socle sans tenon

€60,000-80,000 $66,000-87,000
£54,000-72,000

PROVENANCE:

With Galerie Moderne, Brussels, 9 June 1963, lot 987.
Private Luxembourg collection.

AN IMPORTANT SANDSTONE FIGURE OF UMA

CAMBODIA, KHMER, KOH KER PERIOD,
10TH CENTURY

柬埔寨 高棉帝國 貢開寺時期 十世紀
砂岩烏瑪立像
來源：
於1963年6月9日購自布魯塞爾古董商Galerie

Moderne, lot 987

盧森堡私人收藏

This monumental freestanding female fgure is

extremely well preserved. Even both hands are still
present, only missing the attributes. It is not possible to
determine her exact identity. The attributes were most
likely made of metal, perhaps of gold, and attached
separately. A characteristic feature of this female
deity is her braided and matted chignon (jatamakuta),
suggesting that she represents Uma, the wife of Shiva.

Her pleated sampot fares out slightly at her ankles,
which is a typical Koh Ker period characteristic.
According to E. Bunker and D. Latchford in ‘Adoration
and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art’, Art Media
Sources, Chicago, 2004, p. 156, female fgures in the
Koh Ker style are quite rare. They also mentioned a
comparable example (idem, p. 157), though that one is
lacking her arms and feet.

The ruler during the Koh Ker period, Jayavarman IV,
identifed himself with Shiva. Based on those elements,
the current female fgure can most probably be identifed
as Uma, Shiva’s consort.

Taking the fne quality and relative large size into
consideration, it is not excluded that this sacred image
is an idealized memorial statue, perhaps of a queen
portrayed as Uma. Since no jewellery is depicted on the
fgure other than her tiara, she may have been adorned
with real jewellery during specifc rituals.

A technical report is available upon request.

24 ART D'ASIE · 14 DÉCEMBRE 2016