1,000-year-old wall carvings return home

A section of a 1,000-year-old stone wall carving depicting the statue of Lokesvara lost in 1998, was paraded from the National Museum of Phnom Penh to its original spot in Banteay Chhmar temple, Thmar Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province, after a religious ceremony at the National Museum.

Eight statues of Lokesvara are depicted on the stone wall, and after the officials removed two from the National Museum and returned them to their original location on the wall of Banteay Chhmar temple in the southwest, two remain missing. Yang Taing Koy, director of the Banteay Meanchey provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts, said two sections of the carvings of Lokesvara had been restored at the Banteay Chhmar temple with the approval of the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts.

He said that the two carvings of  Lokesvara, one with six arms and the other, with 10 arms, were about 1,000 years old from the late 12th century to the early 13th century. He added that a section of the Lokesvara carvings was stolen by criminals in 1998 and sold in Thailand. However, the Thai Government found it and returned the statue to Cambodia in 2000 to be kept at the National Museum.

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