Bak Kheng Style Statue Head Found Near Old Temple Site in Cambodia

via Khmer Times, 25 April 2024: A resident of Banteay Meanchey province discovered the head of a Bak Kheng style sculpture from the late 9th and early 10th centuries and donated it to the local museum. This valuable artifact, believed to be from the reign of King Yasovarman I, was found near an old temple site in Mongkul Borei district. The local Department of Culture and Fine Arts praised the community’s role in preserving such artifacts, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding these cultural legacies for future generations.

The head of a Bak Kheng style sculpture from the Angkor period was found on Sunday by a resident of Banteay Meanchey province’s Mongkul Borei district and handed over to the authorities to be placed in the local museum.

The grey sandstone statue head, is 31 cm long, 16 cm wide, and 13 cm thick, and weighed about 5.7kg, was found by a resident, according to the Heritage Protection Police Department.

Yang Tangkouy, Director of the Department of Culture and Fine Arts of Banteay Meanchey, said yesterday that the statue part is a really valuable artefact, which is believed to have been made in the reign of King Yasovarman I (889–901) in the Bak Kheng style of the late 9th and early 10th centuries.

Source: B Meanchey local finds, donates ancient statue part to museum – Khmer Times