“The Mona Lisa of Cambodia”, a large bronze Vishnu, soon to be studied in Paris

According to French archaeologist Brice Vincent of the French School of the Far East, it will “The Mona Lisa of Cambodia”. Or rather the “Venus de Milo of Cambodia” because it’s also missing two arms… even two more because it’s a bronze statue of Vishnu. Discovered in 1936 by the Frenchman Maurice Glaze on an island in the center of the largest Angkor basin, once the West Mebon Temple, it represents a god lying on his side. It is likely that initially, that is, during its production in the 11th century^e century, the work, the royal commission, must have measured 5 to 6 meters. About forty large fragments have been found – accompanied by several hundred smaller pieces – but currently only the upper part of the statue is on display, including the head, two right arms and the upper body. All still exceed 2.20 meters.

In May, this smiling Vishnu will leave the National Museum of Cambodia and go to France. In fact, it will be the focal point of an exhibition of Khmer bronzes to be held at the Musée Guimet in Paris in 2025. of France (C2RMF) and, in particular, in the hands of the archaeometallurgist David Burgarit.

“We’ve always wanted to study it because it’s the main job”This expert said immediately. Tiny specimens have already been taken in Cambodia, but some parts of this statue that were not cast remain to be analyzed. Why use a little 1 centimeter long and 1 millimeter diameter micro drill instead of just scratching the surface a little? “This surface has 1 centimeter of corrosion, David Burgarit answers. If we want to analyze metal, we have to go to its heart. But we only get 20 milligrams. »

The original appearance of the work, completely gilded

Determining the composition of the alloy, determining the geographical origin of the copper, compared to the foundry remains that Mr. Vincent found near the Royal Palace of Angkor, these are the first goals of the research project. The first analyzes showed that the Vishnu bronze “sticks” to the one used at this archaeological site. A result that now needs to be confirmed, namely by taking samples from the statue’s clay core and comparing it to the clay used in the Angkor workshop. In the same vein of ideas, “We will also study the repairs that were made to the statue, continues Mr. Burgarit. Many are bare with small patches of copper. However, in a foundry excavated several years ago by Bruce Vincent, we found copper plates that bear an uncanny resemblance to these “bandages.”