HEAD OF A DEITY

This finely carved Khmer deity head, executed with exceptional care, bears two inventory numbers on the reverse—“4204” and “AAI.68.16”—which make it possible to trace its journey over nearly a century. First mentioned in 1929 in Henri Marchal’s excavation diary, then published with a photograph in 1939 by Henri Parmentier in L’Art khmer classique, it benefited early on from a precise scholarly identification. Kept at Angkor under the number 4204, it was later presented to Jacques Lagisquet, curator of the Monuments of Angkor, before leaving the territory of Indochina in 1947, departing from Saigon in accordance with the administrative practices then in force. The sculpture then continued its story in the United States, where the second inventory number “AAI.68.16” appears to attest to its passage through the Abrons Art Center in New York. It was likely acquired in the 1980s–1990s (reportedly) by a private English collector. After several decades overseas and within this British collection, it finally resurfaced in Europe and was presented by the auction house Zacke in 2020. Tracked almost continuously since 1929, published by one of the leading figures in Angkor archaeology, legally exported, and supported by provenance of exemplary transparency, this deity head offers one of the best-documented histories. It represents a unique opportunity for a discerning collector or an institution.

Archival documentation:

1902 — Earliest known plan of Phnom Sandak Temple.
Lunet de Lajonquière, Étienne, Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, vol. 1, p. 383, fig. 190. Gallica, Bibliothèque nationale de France (online).24 May 1929 — Journal de Fouilles VII by Henri Marchal, years 1928–1930, p. 168.École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), BANYAN digital library (online).

Before 1939 — Photographs of the deity statue by an unknown photographer.
EFEO Archives, Cambodia photographic collection: EFEO_CAM16174; Henri Marchal fonds: EFEO_MARH01953 (duplicate). Paris: École française d’Extrême-Orient (online).

1939 — L’art Khmer Classique, Monument du quadrant Nord-Est by Henri Parmentier, p. 142, pl. XLII. Publications de l’EFEO, vol. 29bis. Gallica, Bibliothèque nationale de France (online).

Undated, but before 1946 — Inventory of items nos. 7 to 4527 from the Angkor depot compiled by Maurice Glaize, p. 47. Archives de la Maison de l’Asie (Paris), call number FR EFEO FCA/3/1/12 (onsite consultation).

Undated — Inventory of items deposited at the Angkor Thom storehouse — [Inventory number I–3555], 119 typed pages. Archives de la Maison de l’Asie (Paris), call number FR EFEO FCA/3/1/4 (onsite consultation).

April–July 1947 — Typed reports of the Conservation of the Angkor Group. École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), BANYAN / EFEO archives (online).

• Jacques Lagisquet (France), Conservator of Monuments for the Angkor group.
• Abrons Art Center, New York ( by repute).
• English private collection — acquired from the above in the 1980s–1990s (by repute), then passed down by descent.

• Parmentier, Henri, L’art Khmer Classique, Monument du quadrant Nord-Est, 1939, p. 142, pl. XLII.

Photo credit : Studio Asselberghs – Frédéric Dehaen