Written by Jessie Beard (Phnom Penh Post Feb. 12, 2009)
A TEAM of researchers, led by US educational program and marketing executive Kent Davis, is analysing 7,000 digital photos taken in November 2008 for a database that will attempt to unveil a mystery that's been bugging Davis since he first visited Angkor Wat in November 2005.
He wants to determine why there are so many images of women in the temples, and he's postulating a theory that Angkor wasn't built to honour kings or gods, but to glorify women.
When Davis first came to Angkor, he immediately became fascinated by the carvings of women and instinctively felt they had been historically trivialised as decorations.
"I wasn't prepared for the temple's human side as realistic carvings of women greeted me. Quite clearly, the images of these women were a major part of the monument's design and purpose," he said.
"These women who are so extraordinary and so filled with significance have remained unstudied and unappreciated in modern times. The fact that they have been hidden in plain sight during 150 years of intense Khmer scholarship is truly amazing.
"But a quantitative analysis could unlock the secrets these complex women have guarded for so long."
Using a computer database, the project involves recording the diverse features of the women, enabling detailed analysis of them for the first time since they were carved.
Davis also departs from convention by referring to the women shown in temple carvings as devatas, not Apsaras.
"No one knows what the ancient Khmers called the women at Angkor Wat. I generally choose to use devata for historical and semantic reasons. About a hundred years ago, some scholars began using the Hindu term apsara, and that became more common over time."
Davis's use of the term devata and his quest to comprehensively analyse the collection of female carvings was also inspired by the work of a young French woman, Sappho Marchal, who began classifying the women by their attributes in her own personal drawings.
Marchal lived at Angkor Wat and was the daughter of the second curator of the Angkor Wat conservation program. She published a book, Costumes et parures Khmers d'apres les davata d'Angkor-Wat, in 1927, and when Davis discovered her writings, he became even more determined to finish what Marchal had started all those years ago.
Davis has already evaluated 1,780 carvings of women and expects to include over 1,800 carvings in his study. He said that once he amassed about 25,000 digital photos of the carvings he was studying, the sheer complexity required that a computer database be used.
But on April 17 last year, Davis's project received a major setback - fire gutted his house and studio, destroying a collection of more than 2,000 books on the history of Southeast Asia and material he had prepared to republish the book Angkor the Magnificent, originally written in 1924 by American socialite and Titanic survivor Helen Churchill Candee.
The book is credited with introducing the concept of Cambodian tourism to Americans, and Davis's revised version was scheduled to go to the publisher the day after the fire.
But the biggest setback was the destruction of Davis's original notes and manuscripts on female statues at Angkor Wat, including a hard drive containing about 25,000 photos of the female carvings.
Not to be deterred, Davis returned to Angkor Wat last November to redo some photography.
"I had logistical help from three Cambodians and three European scientists in Cambodia. But due to the independent nature of the study, their contributions are unofficial.
"Now, the only limitations to progress are time and money. I have most of the photo data again and have built the database program. The process of preparing the images and inputting the data will be quite time-consuming.
"The first paper published will be a technical study I just completed with Michigan State University researchers using computer technology to analyse the faces of the 259 devata on the West Gopura.
"Beyond the database, I have an enormous amount of research data about the images in relation to Cambodian, Southeast Asian and South Asian culture. The introduction to this body of work will be published in the anthology to be called Daughters of Angkor Wat, through my publishing company DatAsia.
"Ultimately, my goal is to work with Cambodian researchers and the Apsara Authority.
"But the onus is on me to prepare substantial evidence before approaching them with my paradigm, which is that the primary reason Angkor Wat was built was to protect, honour and glorify these women, as well as the feminine principles that they represent.
"My view is that Angkor Wat is there because of the women."
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009021224179/Siem-Reap-Insider/The-mysterious-women-of-Angkor.html
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Written by Cheang Sokha (Phnom Penh Post Feb. 12, 2009)
CAMBODIAN officials say they are expecting the return of only seven of the 43 smuggled Khmer antiquities intercepted by Thai authorities that have been the subject of a series of recent high-level talks between the two countries.
Khim Sarith, a secretary of state at Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts who has been involved in meetings with Thai authorities over the return of the artefacts, said that, pending approval by the Thai Cabinet, Cambodia would send a delegation to retrieve the pieces.
But the acquisition would be bittersweet.
In 1999, Thai customs agents seized 43 antique Khmer sculptures weighting more than eight tonnes at a port owned by a Thai shipping company.
Thailand has recognised 18 of the 43 artefacts as belonging to Cambodia. But following a meeting between Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and his Thai counterpart Kasit Piromya at the end of last month in which the visiting top diplomat pledged to push the Thai Cabinet to approve the repatriation of the artifacts, without specifying how many, local officials were hopeful they would see the return of all 43 pieces.
Now, they have had to lower their sights to acquiring just seven artefacts, all of which are the decapitated heads of statues, officials said.
"The artefacts are in their hands so they have the right to decide on how many pieces they will return to us," Khim Sarith said.
Still hope for complete return
The antiquities were being smuggled from Cambodia to Singapore via Thailand and were destined for markets in Europe and the United States. The sculptures are believed to have been stripped from ancient Khmer temples and monuments inside Cambodia.
Negotiations with Thailand on the return of the artefacts began a few years ago, but political instablility in Thailand has delayed the approval of any agreement. The most recent agreement is still awaiting approval from the Thai government, Khim Sarith said.
Koy Kuong, an undersecretary of state at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said his office welcomed the artefacts' return but said he hoped that eventually all of the confiscated items would be back in Cambodia.
Hab Touch, director of the National Museum in Phnom Penh, said the seven heads would be a significant contribution to the museum's collection, but lamented that the majority of the intercepted cargo would remain in the hands of Thai authorities.
"The delay of this return is because of Thai internal political problems, but Cambodia will continue to negotiate to acquire the remaining pieces," he said.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009021224165/National-news/Officials-lower-their-hopes-for-return-of-artefacts-from-Thais.html
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| Written by Cheang Sokha (Phnom Penh Post) |
| Tuesday, 10 February 2009 |
The government is seeking foreign partners to excavate the centuries-old shipwreck discovered in 2006 off the coast of Koh Kong province, officials say.
"We do not have the budget, we lack the technical expertise and we do not have trained [divers]," Khim Sarith, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and chairman of the commission for preserving the sunken ship, told the Post on Monday.
He added that the government wishes to remove the shipwreck's remaining pottery from the seabed at Koh Kong to preserve it, but was hampered by a lack of resources.
"The pottery is being kept in a warehouse in Koh Kong province," he said, adding that the government had plans to build a museum to display the find.
Initially working with a Russian dive team, the government broke off cooperation in 2007 and began negotiating with Beijing about possible recovery efforts. The negotiations were unsuccessful - hence, the new appeal for partners, Khim Sarith said.
The shipwreck, which is believed to be a 14th- or 15thcentury Chinese trading junk laden with ancient oriental pottery and artifacts, was found in February 2006 about 20 kilometres off the coast of Koh Sdech, after a local fishing fleet reported that looters were plundering the site with makeshift diving equipment.
Two Russian-led dives yielded some 900 pieces of pottery. Koh Kong casino tycoon Ly Yong Phat funded one of the dives.
Bin Sam Ol, deputy governor of Koh Kong province, said that, in a bid to prevent looting, the navy is guarding the area near the shipwreck around the clock and the local fishermen are prohibited from fishing in the area.
Hab Touch, director of the National Museum, said that they have sent two museum officials to train in underwater archeology in Australia. "It is not easy to take something from under water like it is to excavate something from the ground," Hab Touch said. "It is very important for us and a new start for Cambodia."
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009021024126/National-news/Govt-seeks-help-for-shipwreck.html
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GMA News, (February 2, 2009)
Philippine Senator Pimentel has promoted more aggressive action in
the recovery of the Balangiga bells, a cultural treasure taken by
Americans when they occupied the city in 1902. He has also called for
the relevant government agencies, including the National Historical
Commission and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, to
proactively seek out and protect sites of historical and cultural
significance to prevent further destruction of important artefacts.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/147438/Pimentel-urges-stronger-action-to-
recover-Balangiga-bells-other-art-treasures
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Associated Press (February 2, 2009)
Officials in Ohio who ordered the removal of a historic rock in the
Ohio River are being sued by Kentucky. The state claims legal rights
over the rock, which they would like to put on display in their
state, instead of its current location in a city garage in Ohio.
Because the Indian Head Rock was a protected archaeological artefact
under Kentucky law, Ohio officials face charges of felony theft for
removing it. Ohio claims that removing the rock in 2007 was necessary
because it had recently been completely submerged under water and was
in danger of being damaged. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/
ap_on_re_us/rock_fight_2
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