Female deity; Cambodia, Khmer Empire, Pre-Angkor Period, Prei Style, Khmeng 635-700.

Female deity; Cambodia, Khmer Empire, Pre-Angkor Period, Prei Style, Khmeng 635-700.
Sandstone.
Presents restoration on the neck.
Measurements: 80 x 29 x 16 cm; 89 cm (height with base).
Female deity carved in sandstone whose features may be the presentation of Laksmi. Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity and beauty. She is the wife of the god Vishnu and is also venerated in Jainism and Buddhism. She is often depicted seated on a lotus, with her hands holding lotus flowers and gold coins symbolizing purity and abundance.
The Prei Khmeng artistic style, which flourished between c. 635 and 700 AD under the reign of King Jayavarman I, is characterized by simplified, stylized sculptures, often small in size, and detailed architectural work. The sculptures exhibit features such as the slightly bowed posture of female figures and a distinctive eggplant-shaped fold in the fabric (sampot). This style laid the foundation for the later development of Angkor art.
It is generally accepted that the Pre-Angkor period begins with the fall of Fu-nan and ends, not with the founding of Angkor, which did not take place until the late ninth century, but with the introduction (in the first half of the ninth century) of the rites on which the Angkor monarchy was to be based. The oldest (Buddhist) images are not earlier than the middle of the 6th century. The somewhat later Brahmanic monuments (early 7th century and later period) already show some of the traditional characteristics of Khmer architecture. Only a few outstanding examples of pre-Angkorian art exist. This period marks the beginnings of the Khmer world, in which a distinctive personality is gradually asserted, although generally still under foreign influences. Belief in the cult of the "god-king" does not yet exist. However, the art of this period lays the foundations of sculptural symbolism and inaugurates architectural forms that will be reused and improved later. Pre-Angkorian statuary shows an Indian influence, but the anatomical representation is less dramatic.