Artwork Page for Colossal Head of a Deva

Details / Information for Colossal Head of a Deva

Colossal Head of a Deva

c. 1200

Cambodia, Angkor, Preah Khan

Medium
sandstone
Measurements
Overall: 71.3 x 50 x 47 cm (28 1/16 x 19 11/16 x 18 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Maxeen and John Flower in honor of Dr. Stanislaw Czuma 2011.147
Public Domain
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Location
244 Indian and Southeast Asian
Print
?

Did You Know?

The deity’s conical tiara consists of a diadem with floral decoration and is topped by a five-tiered lotus narrowing upward.

Description

This head is from one of the gods (devas in Sanskrit) who, according to Hindu myth, churned the primordial Ocean of Milk to extract the nectar of immortality. Using a mountain as a churning rod and a serpent as the rope, the gods on one side and the demons on the other vied to win the nectar. The gods prevailed and achieved immortality.
Brown-grey sandstone sculpture of solely the head of a god wearing a headdress. Their lips turn faintly upward, the shape of the eyes outlined, and a triangle pointing down on their forehead. On their head rests a floral patterned headdress with a larger central flower behind which five rows of petals rise into a cone shape.

Colossal Head of a Deva

c. 1200

Cambodia, Angkor, Preah Khan

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