This
mysterious and captivating face of the god Shiva illustrated the front
cover of a 1989 book - Thai and Cambodian Sculpture from the 6th to 14th
Centuries – by Wolfgang Felton and Martin Lerner, which came out in
German a year earlier. The picture was taken by Hugo Stiegler. The book
promo said the 101 artworks included were previously unpublished
Cambodian, Thai, and Vietnamese stone and bronze sculptures. I haven’t
seen the book myself, so if anyone has a copy, please let
me know. Specifically, I’d love more information about this head of
Shiva, dated to the 11th century, the Baphuon art period, which I
thought to be a bronze, though it could just as easily be stone, which
is more likely. The holes for the two eyes and a third vertical eye in
the forehead, could’ve been filled with silver or obsidian (a black
volcanic glass), though remaining empty they give the face an alluring
hypnotic quality. The smooth chignon cover and hair are unusual, the
scalloped ears are damaged, while the long straight nose, thick lips and
rakish moustache offer us a deity with strength, poise and purpose.
Update: It’s definitely sandstone, not bronze.
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