The Buddha is instantly recognizable in Khmer art. He has his cranial protuberance (usnisa) representing supreme knowledge, his tightly curled hair, his extended earlobes, and monastic robes. He is delicately proportioned, with muscled chest, slim torso, slender arms and legs, all visible under his delicate monastic garments. He stands with arms outstretched; if our example still had hands, one would be gesturing with his index finger touching his thumb, in the traditional Buddhist pose of the Vitarka mudra. Despite the discolouration of the stone, you can clearly see Buddha’s half-closed eyes, contemplative expression, and serene smile.

Buddhism was first brought to Cambodia in the sixth century AD, with a wave of Indian commerce in the region. Since the 13th Century, Theravada Buddhism has been the dominant religion of Cambodia, as it remains today. Buddha statues are common devotional objects in Cambodia, and form a central focus of Buddhist religion.

If all art is meditative, then this statue achieves the goal for which its creators set out; by looking at the serene expression of the Buddha in this delicate, fluid sculpture we are able to slow down our own thoughts, and to lose ourselves in the beauty and serenity of the subject. From the delicate, almost transparent, monk’s robes, to the swirls of Gautama Buddha’s hair, it is the attention to detail which draws the viewer in, losing ourselves in the harmonious composition.