As mentioned, Bayon Wat has an amazing collection of Bas-relief carvings. Some of these are individual stand alone
And some of these are friezes, telling stories.
Here soldiers and an officer go to war:
Soldiers marching to war. Note the individual on top of the element. It could be a high officer or the King:
Design:
Carts bringing tribute or gifts:
No idea. But pretty cool!
These dancers have some of the same hand gestures we saw in the dancing in Siam Reap:
A naval battle. It is likely the battle led by Jayavarman VII to drive the Champa people from the site of Angkor between A.D. 1177 and 1181:
A crocodile seizes warrior that has fallen overboard as a fish swims by. The perils of naval warfare:
Wat's up Doc? ...... couldn't resist TB.....:)
ReplyDeleteWell played Sir, well played.
DeleteI've always wanted to be a fly on the wall of someplace where these carvings were being created eons ago. What happened when they made a mistake or an errant section of rock chipped off unexpectedly? They couldn't erase. Did they just chip it all flat to start again or perhaps changed the form on the fly? Inquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteEd, that is an interesting question. I do not wonder that the best of the best were working on these so mistakes were possibly infrequent, as with any master craftsman. And, as with any master craftsman, they were able to compensate quickly.
DeleteQuite amazing. A glimpse into an ancient culture. It's nice that so many of them are in good condition.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, thankfully in this case Siam Reap is so far removed from major population centers and inland that it was not greatly impacted by much of the issues of the 19th and 20th Century. Its abandonment after 1431 probably also helped in the overall preservation.
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