A root-entangled doorway inside the ancient Khmer temple of Ta Prohm suggests how the “Lost City” of Angkor might have appeared upon its "rediscovery" in northwestern Cambodia in the mid-19th Century.
The ancient temple once served as a royal Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university at the height of the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century.
Ta Prohm remains in an intentionally unrestored state of partial collapse with strangler-fig or silk-cotton tree roots enveloping parts of the temple structure.
The trees eventually lend some support to the partly overgrown and gently declining "Jungle Temple.” Finely carved sandstone statues of apsaras or celestial maidens and devatas appear in the niches that still adorn the temple walls.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. expl#54
Rethinking Portraiture | Personal Faves | National Geographic
Tags: Khmer kings Cambodia Devarāja cult god-king Angkor temple Mahayana Buddhist Jayavarman monk Saffron doorway Jungle ruins roots royal monastery devatas asparas Sandstone people portrait asia UnescoWorldHeritageSite wat SoutheastAsia architecture culture ethnic DavidSchweitzer DocumentaryPhotography StreetPhotography HumanInterest VisualAnthropology PhotoJournalism mausoleum Ta Prohm novice lost city explore indigenous Faces travel gaze outdoor DocumentaryPortrait StreetPortrait art red
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A root-entangled doorway inside the ancient Khmer temple of Ta Prohm suggests how the “Lost City” of Angkor might have appeared upon its "rediscovery" in northwestern Cambodia in the mid-19th Century. The ancient temple once served as a royal Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university at the height of the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century.
Ta Prohm remains in an intentionally unrestored state of partial collapse with strangler-fig or silk-cotton tree roots enveloping parts of the temple structure. The trees eventually lend some support to the partly overgrown and gently declining "Jungle Temple.” Finely carved sandstone statues of apsaras or celestial maidens and devatas appear in the niches that still adorn the temple walls.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved.
Rethinking Portraiture | Personal Faves | National Geographic
Tags: Khmer kings Cambodia Devarāja cult god-king Angkor temple faces Mahayana Buddhist Jayavarman novice monk Saffron doorway Lost City Jungle Temple Ta Prohm jungle ruins roots royal monastery devatas asparas Sandstone people portrait asia UnescoWorldHeritageSite wat SoutheastAsia architecture culture ethnic DavidSchweitzer DocumentaryPhotography StreetPhotography HumanInterest VisualAnthropology PhotoJournalism mausoleum red
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Classical Khmer kings of medieval Cambodia promoted the notion of Devarāja, a cult of the "god-king” that provided the religious rationale for royal authority. They were depicted as divine universal rulers or deified monarchs with transcendental qualities.
The gigantic smiling faces at Bayon Temple portray the great Mahayana Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII, as a living god on earth - a Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or enlightened Buddhist saint overseeing a vast and disparate empire with an enigmatic blend of benevolence and absolute authority.
Bayon Temple served as the primary locus of the royal cult and was Jayavarman's personal mausoleum at the height of his rein over the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century. The temple is positioned at the centre of the ancient Angkor Thom city complex and rural metropolis in northwestern Cambodia. Over 200 serenely smiling visages carved on more than 50 sandstone face-towers remain throughout the temple.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved.
Rethinking Portraiture | Personal Faves | National Geographic
Tags: Khmer kings Cambodia Devarāja cult god-king Bayon Angkor Thom temple faces Mahayana Buddhist Jayavarman Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara religion portrait asia UnescoWorldHeritageSite wat SoutheastAsia architecture culture ethnic DavidSchweitzer DocumentaryPhotography StreetPhotography HumanInterest VisualAnthropology PhotoJournalism explore People art
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The ancient Angkor Wat temple complex in northwestern Cambodia is regarded as the supreme masterpiece of classic Khmer architecture and source of intense national pride. It was built as a mausoleum for a great medieval king (Suryavarman II, 1113-1150) whose regime had adopted some aspects of Hinduism.
The infinity POV in this remarkable southern section of the east gallery follows through a corbel-roofed colonnade with a long sequence of columns. Typically seated at the base of each column are rishis or bearded ascetics. To the left of the arcade is perhaps the most famous of the bas-relief scenes at Angkor Wat, the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. It depicts an epic chapter in the Hindu creation myth and is seen as a paragon of classic Khmer art.
It is also a story about the victory of good over evil. The devas (gods) and the asuras (demons) are portrayed in a metaphoric tug-of-war with the Naga or serpent king as their divine rope, while overhead a ubiquitous host of asparas or celestial maidens sing and dance in encouragement.
Anchor Wat contains the longest continuous series of bas-reliefs in the world with a complete iconographical record of Hindu mythology, including the Khmer version of scenes drawn from epic Indian legends of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The beautifully carved sandstone reliefs also depict scenes from ancient Khmer courtly and military life, including a triumphal battle march with the king and his commanders mounted on war elephants.
This grand architectural endeavour contributed to the notion that the king was an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He was depicted as a deified monarch with transcendental qualities, a divine universal ruler, hence a “god who is king.” The myth provided the religious rationale for absolute royal authority and subject obedience.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. Any use of this work requires my prior written permission. expl#114
Rethinking Portraiture | myFaves | National Geographic
Tags: Khmer kings Cambodia Devarāja cult god-king Angkor temple Avalokitesvara religion portrait asia UnescoWorldHeritageSite wat SoutheastAsia architecture culture ethnic DavidSchweitzer DocumentaryPhotography StreetPhotography HumanInterest VisualAnthropology PhotoJournalism red ochre monk people ancient masterpiece medieval Hinduism bas-reliefs colonnade columns mausoleum explore indigenous travel outdoor DocumentaryPortrait StreetPortrait art
© All Rights Reserved
Classical Khmer kings of medieval Cambodia promoted the notion of Devarāja, a cult of the "god-king” that provided the religious rationale for royal authority. They were depicted as divine universal rulers or deified monarchs with transcendental qualities.
The gigantic smiling faces at Bayon Temple portray the great Mahayana Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII, as a living god on earth - a Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or enlightened Buddhist saint overseeing a vast and disparate empire with an enigmatic blend of benevolence and absolute authority.
The temple served as the primary locus of the royal cult and was Jayavarman's personal mausoleum at the height of his rein over the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century. It is positioned at the centre of the ancient Angkor Thom city complex and rural metropolis in northwestern Cambodia. Over 200 serenely smiling visages carved on more than 50 sandstone face-towers remain throughout the temple.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. expl#63
Rethinking Portraiture | myFaves | National Geographic
Tags: Khmer kings Cambodia Devarāja cult god-king Bayon Angkor Thom temple faces Mahayana Buddhist Jayavarman Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara novice monk Saffron religion people portrait asia UnescoWorldHeritageSite wat SoutheastAsia architecture culture ethnic DavidSchweitzer DocumentaryPhotography StreetPhotography HumanInterest VisualAnthropology PhotoJournalism explore ochre red art
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