A KHMER BRONZE FIGURE OF VISHNU, ANGKOR PERIOD Khmer Empire, 12^th – 13^th century. The deity standing in samapada on a yoni, his four arms radiating around him holding four attributes, wearing a sampot secured with a decorative sash. The face with wide smiling features flanked by long foliate earrings. The hair secured into a high chignon.

Provenance: De-accession of The Dr. István Zelnik Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. The statue with wear, signs of erosion, miniscule nicks here and there, a hole on the upper side of the base. Fine, naturally grown malachite-green patina.

Weight: 576.8 g
Dimensions: Height 18.4 cm, width 7.7 cm

Vishnu is a deity of Vedic origin and along with Brahma and Shiva, forms part of the Trimurti or Triad in Hinduism. He represents the principle of preservation and, thanks to his various avatars, is able to intervene when the universal order is threatened.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related, yet more refined and larger, bronze figure of Vishnu, dated to the 13^th century, at Christie’s New York in The Doris Wiener Collection on 20 March 2012, lot 168, sold for USD 12,500.