National Museum of Cambodia description and photos - Cambodia: Phnom Penh (Topic)

National Museum of Cambodia description and photos - Cambodia: Phnom Penh. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is National Museum of Cambodia.

Photo & Description

Located north of the Royal Palace, the National Museum of Cambodia is housed in an elegant traditional terracotta building dating from 1917-1920. The courtyard has a beautiful garden.

The Museum is a repository of the world's best collections of Khmer sculpture and art objects dating back thousands of years. The exhibits are arranged from left to right in chronological order. The first significant sculpture to greet visitors is a large fragment of a bronze statue of Vishnu with his head, shoulders, and two right arms intact. The sculpture was delivered ​ ​ from the Western Mebon Temple near Angkor Wat in 1936.

The southern pavilion presents a pre-Angkor collection, illustrating the transition from the human form of Indian sculpture to the divine form of Khmer sculpture of the 5th-8th centuries. The main examples that attract attention are the imposing eight-armed statue of Vishnu from the 6th century, found in Phnom Da, and the sculpture of Harihara, combining the attributes of Shiva and Vishnu, products from the Kampong Thom province.

The collection of the Angkor period includes several striking statues of Shiva from the 9th-11th centuries, a pair of giant monkeys (Koh Ker, 10th century), a beautiful 12th century stele from the Oddar-Myanchi province, which depicted scenes from life Shiva, a statue of Jayavarman VII sitting in a meditation position with his head bowed (1181-1219, Angkor Thom).

The museum also exhibits ceramic and bronze exhibits dating back to the pre-Angkorian periods of Funan and Chenla (IV-IX centuries), the Indvarvarman period (IX-X centuries. ) and the classic Angkor period (X-XIV centuries), as well as a beautiful wooden royal barge.

The collection is not allowed to be removed, only the central courtyard can be photographed. Tours are guided by English, French or Japanese-speaking guides and themed booklets can be purchased at reception.

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Topic: National Museum of Cambodia description and photos - Cambodia: Phnom Penh.