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The different trends of tantric Buddhism place at the top of their pantheon a category of spiritual entities representing the supreme essence of Buddhist teaching. Vajrasattva, “the Diamond Being”, that is, “The One whose essence is the diamond”, is one of them.

It is thanks to the generosity of the former United States ambassador John Gunther Dean and his wife that we owe the entry in the French national collections of a Khmer art head in the Preah Ko style.

This sculpture comes from the vicinity of Srah Ta Set, a small basin set in the heart of Angkor Thom, the great historic capital of Cambodia. 

Several 10th-century Khmer sculptures and low reliefs feature a male deity with a horse’s head. First arisen in the era preceding Angkor, this strange and fascinating personage belongs to the deity Vishnu’s multiform iconography.  

In the Preah Khan sanctuary, a Buddhist temple located north of the city of Angkor Thom (Cambodia), this impressive group introduced the procession leading the faithful to the outer door of the ensemble.