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Angkor - Sacred Heritage of Cambodia
15 Dezember 2006 - 9 April 2007
Press conference: 12/14/2005, 11 a.m.
Situated at the heart of Southeast Asia, Cambodia is bisected by the mighty Mekong River. Throughout Cambodia’s history, the waters of the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap, one of the world’s biggest lakes, have represented the country’s lifeblood. By the Angkor period the Khmer had already developed highly sophisticated irrigation systems. Then as now, water played a pre-eminent role not only in agriculture but also in the country’s mythology and architecture.

Angkor marks the zenith of a civilisation that began to develop in the first centuries AD. The first Buddhist and Hindu works of art date from the 6th century. The rise of the Khmer empire in Angkor on the northern shore of the Tonle Sap began in the 9th century. At the height of their power, the Khmer ruled an area comprising today’s Cambodia, South Vietnam, Laos as well as the central plain of the Chao Phraya River in Thailand. They were one of the most populous and powerful peoples in Asia. Well into the 13th century, the importance of the Khmer empire manifested itself in a series of enormous temples, among them Angkor Wat, widely regarded as the world’s largest sanctuary.

The exhibition will present a unique survey of Cambodia’s culture, beginning in the 6th century with stone and wood sculptures of the pre-Angkor kingdoms of Funan and Zhenla and culminating in the art and architecture of the Angkor period (9th–13th century). Water management, rice cultivation and trade take their place as well, because they formed the basis for the country’s extraordinary wealth. A selection of stone sculptures, bronze figures, inscriptions, architectural elements and photographs testifies to the unparalleled artistic achievement of the Angkor era.