A SANDSTONE HEAD OF HARIHARA, PRE-ANGKOR PERIODKhmer Empire, 7th-8th century. The round face with heavy-lidded eyes below gently arched eyebrows, broad nose, and full lips, flanked by elongated earlobes, the hair neatly incised and falling along the back and surmounted by a headdress.Provenance: A French private collection built between ca. 1980 and 2012. Thence by descent.Condition: Good condition,mensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, signs of weathering and erosion, nicks, scratches, and encrustations.Weight: 3,062 g (incl. stand)Dimensions: Height 21 cm (excl. stand) and 27.7 cm (incl. stand)Mounted to an associated metal stand. (2)In Harihara imagery, Shiva is represented as the right half of the deity. The facial features are undifferentiated, unlike in their Indian counterparts, where a masculine and feminine cast is given to each half. This Harihara makes clear the extent to which the Khmer conception differentiated the two deities only in the partition of the headdress into abined jatamukuta-miter. The popularity of this hybrid deity was largely confined to the seventh century.Literatureparison:Compare a related sandstone head of Harihara, early 7th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, lent by Musée National des Arts Asiatiques–Guimet, Paris, accession number MG14899.pare a related statue of Harihara, late 7th to early 8th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1977.241.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Paris, 26 October 2022, lot 267Price:EUR 14,025Description: A sandstone head of Avalokiteshvara, Thailand, Pre-Angkorian, Prakhon Chai style, Buriram, 8th centuryExpert remark:pare the related facial features, material, and size (20 cm). Note the hair and headdress.