Temple wall carvings

In my thinking before my trip, I expected to visit Angkor Wat since the architecture is one of a kind. The huge number of high quality temples beyond Angkor Wat surprised me. What also took me by surprise was the enormous role that wall carvings have in the artistic tradition of the Khmer Empire.

On several temples hundreds of feet of carvings grace the exterior walls. These temples were partially designed to be sites of religious pilgrimage for the masses. Although the general population came, the interior spaces were reserved for the imperial elite. For Hindu temples that would be the Brahmins. For Buddhist temples the elite might be the political elite.

Wall carvings on the outside of the temples, therefore, were meant to appeal to the masses and demonstrate the religious devotion of the Khmer imperial officials.

In a previous post I showed an image from the churning of the sea of milk that is at Angkor Wat.

The first two images are from Bayon Temple. The temple was dedicated after a Khmer king had defeated an army of Cham people from what is now Vietnam about 850 years ago. An enormous detailed wall of carvings depict the various stages of this campaign. It reminded me of Trajan's Column in Rome with similar scale and level of detail.

The next image is from Angkor Wat showing divine female dancers. These images are found all over the temple structures in this area. Traditional Cambodian dance troupes imitate the style of dance represented (but obviously not the dress).

The last image is from a small temple known for its exquisitely detailed carvings from Hindu mythology. The well preserved carvings were delightful since at every turn there was something else to marvel.