Type of Khmer atr and architechture

1. Sculpture
The stone carving skill of the ancient Khmer was basically inherited from the Indian civilization, however, it was later evolved into its own unique Khmer style. The Khmer sculptures were carved from stone with great craftsmanship and many of them represent the Hindu deities such as Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmans, the elephant god Ganesha and many other gods and goddesses, as well as Hindu mythical monsters such as the serpent naga, the demon kala, the giant makara, and the mythical lions. Some large sculptures even portray the epics of the Hindu myths such as Mahabharata and Ramayana.
In later centuries, the Buddha statues appeared and enshrined in many temples. The most astounding Buddha statues are found in Angkor Thom (Bayon) where the magnificent statues of four-faced Bodhisattava Avalokiteshvara, the lord Buddha, were sculptured on fifty towers. Although each sculpture bears the common characteristics of the supernatural being it represents as described in the epics or myths, its details reveal the personal imagination of its sculptor. In addition, some sculptures depict the important events such as the war against its foreign invaders while some reveal the everyday life of the Khmer people such as the relief carvings of Angkor Thom.

2. Architecture
The house of the local people in ancient Khmer was more or less similar to those found today in villages of modern Cambodia. It was elevated about two and a half meters above the ground with the wooden ladder and was built by wooden piles which supported the floor, the walls and the roof. The wall was made up of either the straws or the bamboo with the roof covered with the thatched leaves of dry coconut palms.
The architecture of the dignitaries' houses and the palaces was somewhat different from those of the laymen, and differed in sizes, layouts and dimensions. The materials used to built the house consisted of stronger wooden planks, generally made up of teakwood, and the roof was covered with tiles for the inner rooms and with thatched leaves for the outer corners. These differences clearly identified the classes of the people by which the laymen were not even dare to put up a single tile on their roof.
According to Hinduism, the gods reside in the five sacred mountains with central Mount Meru and these mountains are surrounded by the cosmic ocean. The structure of the Khmer temples mostly symbolizes the heavenly residence of the gods with five towers, called Prasats. The central dominant tower or Prasat represents the Mount Meru with four smaller ones, each at its corners, to represent the other four sacred mountains of the heaven. In some temples, there are galleries connecting the towers. The moat surrounding the temple symbolizes the cosmic ocean.

Related Articles:

Artisans d'angkor

Artisans d'angkor

Who we are True inside and beautiful outside, Artisans Angkor Craft at Artisant d'AngkorArtisans Angkor was created in 1999 to help young ...

Cambodian living arts

Cambodian living arts

About the Founder Arn Chorn-Pond, founder of Cambodian Living Arts, is a Cambodian-American refugee and was featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary, ...

Cambodian Craft Cooperation

Cambodian Craft Cooperation

Who we are Small business for development Weaving and wearing silk continues to be an expression of Cambodia's deeply-rooted cultural and social ...

Epic Arts

Epic Arts

Who we areEvery Person Is Counted The work of Epic Arts aims to change people's attitudes towards disability, encouraging the belief ...

Craft Peace Cafe ( Banteay Pried Production)

Craft Peace Cafe ( Banteay Pried Production)

Who we are Everything for peace Originally, Banteay Prieb (“Center of the Dove” in Khmer) is a vocational training center for Cambodians ...

Type of Khmer atr and architechture

Type of Khmer atr and architechture

1. Sculpture The stone carving skill of the ancient Khmer was basically inherited from the Indian civilization, however, it was ...

In association with
Asta  Pata  Vista  vietnamtourism  footprint  Tripadvisor