Post5


Preah Khan was built on the site of JAYAVARMAN VII's victory over the invading CHAMS in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the origina Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory).[1] The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of YASOVARMAN II and TRIBHUVANADITYAVARMAN.[2] The temple's foundation STELA has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the BODHISATTVA AVALOKITE"7;VARA in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at TA PROHM). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, PERFUME and even MOSQUITO NETS;[3] the temple's wealth included gold, silver, GEMS, 112,300 pearls and a COW with GILDED horns.[4]

The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers[5] and 1000 teachers.[6]The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial ANASTYLOSIS was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, MAURICE GLAIZE, wrote that.The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.[7]Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the WORLD MONUMENTS FUND. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history".[8] It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern GOPURA, the HOUSE OF FIRE and the HALL OF DANCERS.[9

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post3

Image
The Bayon (KHMER: ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, Prasat Bayon) is a well-known and richly decorated KHMER temple at ANGKOR in CAMBODIA. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the MAHAYANA BUDDHIST King JAYAVARMAN VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, ANGKOR THOM. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later HINDU and THERAVADA Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of BAS-RELIEFS, which present an unusual combination of MYTHOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL, and mundane scenes. The current main conservatory body, the JAPANESE GOVERNMENT team for the Safeguarding of ANGKOR (the JSA) has described the temple as "the most striking expressi...
Read more

Post4

Image
Banteay Srei or Banteay Srey (KHMER: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) is a 10th century CAMBODIAN temple dedicated to the HINDU god SHIVA. Located in the area of ANGKOR in CAMBODIA. It lies near the hill of PHNOM DEI, 25 km (16 mi) north-east of the main group of temples that once belonged to the medieval capitals of YASODHARAPURA and ANGKOR THOM. Banteay Srei is built largely of red SANDSTONE, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a "precious gem", or the jewel of Khmer art. Banteay Srei is a Khmer temple dedicated to the ancient Hindu God Shiva which was constructed in the 10th century and consecrated about 962. Following the destruction of Angkor by the Siamese armies this ...
Read more

Post2

Image
Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th hcenturies and originally called Rajavihara·. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. About Trees The trees growing out of the ruins are perhaps the most distinctive feature of Ta Prohm, and "have prompted more writers to descriptive excess than any other feature of Angkor. "Two species predominate, but sources disagree on their identification: the larger is either the silk-cotton tre...
Read more