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Belonging to the first Buddhist iconography known as “aniconic”, this stupa facing plaque illustrates the Great Departure of Prince Siddhartha – who would successively become the historic Buddha Shakyamuni - fleeing, at night and in secrecy, the royal palace of Kapilavastu and secular life to seek the truth and attain Awakening.

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.

Standing, endowed with three arms, the female representation wears on her head a rich diadem adorned with five seated buddhas in meditation.  

With its gesture signifying the absence of fear (abbaya mudra), this hand of a monumental Buddha, modelled in raw clay, was entirely gilded in keeping with the Buddhist tradition wherein the Buddha should glow with a fine golden light.

It's important to remember the paradoxical nature of the appearance of the tutelary god Chakrasamvara in Tibetan Buddhism. Despite its singularly frightening appearance, it represents the subtlest and purest level of consciousness in meditation and visualization practices.

Hayagriva est à la fois un dieu tutélaire (ishtadevata) et un protecteur des enseignements (dharmapala) dans le bouddhisme tibétain. Il est une forme courroucée d’Avalokiteshvara, le bodhisattva compatissant.

The use of ivory is mentioned in various ancient Indian texts and more recent accounts by European travellers. Ivory was used to make small objects, furniture, and architectural decorations.