In Khmer, Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism transmitted from India coexisted under the protection of the kings. Suryavarman II, who built Angkor Wat, was himself revered as a Hindu deity and crowned holy statues of him were created. Later kings embraced Theravada Buddhism and built the great castle town Angkor Thom and other massive temples. This bronze standing buddha (cat. no. 047) is an image with graceful limbs and body divested of all excess. Wearing an elaborately decorated crown, it has ear and chest ornaments and armlets and is clad in a robe and bejeweled sash. Statues of kings similar to this image are found on the walls of Angkor Wat. The two hands in the gesture of the gfear-not mudrah (semu-in) and the thin garment with its hem fluttering are elements passed down from the early Khmer style of Buddhist sculpture. In the center of its forehead is a spindle-shaped third eye, in Hindu style. The imagefs elegance and gorgeousness lead one to imagine that the work is the image of a king who was then identified as a buddha.
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