ARTHUR M SACKLER GALLERY PRESENTS 'GODS OF ANGKOR: BRONZES FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA'

THE ENDURING SIGNIFICANCE OF BRONZE IN CAMBODIAN CULTURE IS THE THEME OF 'GODS OF ANGKOR: BRONZES FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA', THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON THE SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF KHMER BRONZE CASTERS. ON VIEW AT THE ARTHUR M SACKLER GALLERY FROM 15.MAY THROUGH 23.JANUARY.2011, THE EXHIBITION FEATURES MAGNIFICENT BRONZE SCULPTURES AND RITUAL OBJECTS CREATED WITHIN A KHMER CULTURAL CONTEXT THAT SPANNED SOME 1,600 YEARS, FROM LATE PREHISTORY THROUGH THE ANGKOR PERIOD (9th-15tH CENTURIES). 36 MASTERWORKS FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA'S UNPARALLELED COLLECTION OF SOME 7,000 BRONZES MAKE UP THE STUNNING COLLECTION. THE EXHIBITION, WHICH GREW OUT OF A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE FREER AND SACKLER GALLERIES AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA TO DEVELOP A CONSERVATION PROGRAM AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, EXPLORES SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN BRONZE CASTING, AS WELL AS CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS THAT COALESCED DURING THE ANGKOR PERIOD INTO A RECOGNIZABLE KHMER STYLE OF BRONZE FORM, FINISH AND ORNAMENT.
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