Khmer bronzes under scientific prism

Paris. Majestic temples with sculptures frozen in stone, the architecture of Angkor has a universal fascination. On the other hand, the deities and objects of worship in bronze which once occupied these sanctuaries remain a more unknown part of the Khmer art. By focusing on this bronze art, the Guimet museum explores a still relatively recent research subject. And it is this scientific tone that takes precedence over the exhibition, with an emphasis on the manufacturing secrets revealed by these precious bronzes, kept in smaller numbers because very often victims of overhaul and looting.

Contrary to what its title suggests, the exhibition is not confined to Angkor, a glorious capital of the Khmer kingdom from the 9th to the 15th centuries. To better contextualize this abundant period, she opted rather for a chronological journey which retraces the whole history of bronze art in Cambodia, from protohistoric vestiges to contemporary crafts. The exhibition therefore opens with a return to the sources of copper metallurgy, focusing on a recently discovered mining complex and the process of manufacturing bronzes. A fairly arduous start, but counterbalanced by the pedagogy of the route, dotted with cards, casts, diagrams, films reconstructing the original aspect of certain statues (sometimes golden with mercury) and radiographies which reveal their composition. The exhibition thus maintains a certain balance between scientific knowledge and visit pleasure, by addressing both specialists and amateurs.

In total, more than 200 works, objects and architectural pieces are gathered, more than half of which come straight from the National Museum of Cambodia (Phnom Penh). “There has never been, I think, so many Khmer bronzes gathered in the same exhibition”rejoices Brice Vincent, lecturer at the French School of Far East (EFEO), who ensures the police station with Pierre Baptiste (curator at the Guimet museum), Thierry Zéphir (research engineer at the Guimet museum) and David Bourgarit (research engineer at the Center for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France-C2RMF). The highlight of the exhibition, the famous Vishnou (see ill.) Of the western mebon, masterpiece of the Khmer art, is relegated to the museum’s entrance hall because of its size: six meters long, the bust found exceeds two meters. Discovered in the heart of an 11th century sanctuary in 1936, it is the largest known bronze ever melted in Angkor. And if the statue has already traveled in France in the past, its fragments are here reconstituted for the first time using an ingenious base, after five months of catering led by the C2RMF (a meticulous work presented at the end of the visit).

Moreover, the selection is finely chosen: several statues recently returned to Cambodia are highlighted, others are raised and exposed for the first time. Representations of Shiva, Buddha, Vishnou rub shoulders with various archaeological and epigraphic sources. Further on, bronze ritual objects abound: mirror, candelabra, centered censer in the shape of a lotus … “The idea is not only to focus on the technique of these bronzes. It is to adopt complementary approaches: iconographic, stylistic, archaeological, technological … ”supports Brice Vincent. But if it is true that this chronological succession makes it possible to detect covers of motifs, subtle differences between periods, these stylistic characteristics could however have been put forward more explicitly. Likewise, the information provided on iconography remains rudimentary, sometimes overshadowed by the technical component. The objects are not, however, dispossessed of their liturgical context, which is recreated even in the scenography imagined by Marco Magni. Soft lighting, which sometimes harms the readability of works and cartels, and architectural forms evoke the intimacy of the cella (where the statues of the deities were enthroned). A beautiful immersion in the universe of these temples, abundant with life and beliefs.