Description
A KHMER BRONZE FIGURE OF FOUR-ARMED LOKESVARA UNDER SEVEN-HEADED NAGA, 13TH CENTURY
Khmer Empire, Angkor period, Bayon style, 13th century. The four-armed bodhisattva wearing a sambat, holding his attributes, and standing on the coiled naga, representing the snake king Muchalinda, on a square base, the snake rising above him with seven heads.
Condition: Well-preserved with wear and other signs of age throughout, with a fine malachite patina and soil encrustation.
Provenance: From an old South German collection.
Weight: 847.2 g.
Dimensions: Height 22.5 cm.
This depiction featuring the serpent king Muchalinda is quite unusual, as it is much more common for this naga to be depicted sheltering Buddha, and this testifies to the great importance of this bodhisattva in Khmer society at the time.