Dvarapala, Head of a Guardian Figure, 10th century

Sandstone with remnants of former painting

(H x W x D)24,5 × 14,6 × 15,2 cm

Place of originKampuchea

Status

on display, room 018.3

About the workThis head probably belonged to a guardian figure, known as a Dvarapala, once located next to the entrance to a temple in the historic Angkor Wat complex. Situated in present-day Cambodia, the city and its religious sites were an important hub for the rulers of the Khmer Empire from the ninth to the fourteenth century. It was not until the nineteenth century that European archaeologists rediscovered this area. The temple complex survived the later civil war and Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979, but many statues were stolen and sold abroad. This guardian figure’s head was donated to the collection in 2004 by the collector Bruno Werdelmann. He had acquired it at an auction held by August Bödiger in Bonn in 1987. The circumstances under which the auction house obtained this item and the identity of any potential previous owners are still unknown.

AccessionGift of Bruno Werdelmann 2004

Provenance[...]; mind. November 1987 A. Bödiger, Bonn; 6.11.1987 - 25.10.2004 Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. Bruno Werdelmann (1920 – 2010), Ratingen, erworben vom Kunsthaus August Bödiger, Auktion 210, Kat. Nr. 686, Abb. Tafel 78; 25.10.2004 erworben durch Schenkung von Bruno Werdelmann

Inventory numberP 2005-1135

Contact

sammlung@kunstpalast.de

Permalink

https://sammlung.kunstpalast.de/en/objects/425048/dvarapala-kopf-einer-wachterfigur

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