Provenance:
Galerie J.C. Moreau-Gobard, Paris
French Private Collection, acquired in 1966
This female deity represents one of the major Hindu female deities, either Lakshmi or Uma, the consorts of Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Standing frontally and wearing a sampot falling in delicate vertical pleats, the wide plain belt around her hips is covered by a fabric overfold in front, and her finely-carved torso has a narrow waist and full, rounded breasts.
Pre Rup is a Hindu temple at Angkor built as the state temple of Khmer king Rajendravarman and dedicated in 961 or early 962. Pre Rup was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, and it is probably located on a former Shaivite ashram, built by Yasovarman I in the previous century. In the early 20th century, the Pre Rup had been completely overgrown and covered with soil. The temple was excavated during the 1930s by French conservators George Trouvé and Henri Marchal. The temple's name is a comparatively modern one meaning "turn the body." This reflects the common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the service progressed.
