Apsara relief
10th – 13th Century CE

Apsara Bas-Reliefs

ចម្លាក់អប្សរា

More than 1,800 celestial dancers carved into Angkor Wat alone, each with distinct coiffure, jewellery and gesture — a sculptural census of Angkorian courtly style.

Era

10th – 13th Century CE

Category

arts

Media assets

2

Sources

1 verified

Born from the Ocean of Milk

កំណើតពីសមុទ្រទឹកដោះ

In the churning myth the apsaras rise from the agitated sea as the embodiment of grace itself. On temple walls they occupy the liminal zone between the terrestrial narrative registers and the divine towers above, functioning as a threshold population.

អប្សរាកើតចេញពីការកូរសមុទ្រទឹកដោះ ជានិមិត្តរូបនៃភាពទន់ភ្លន់។

Gesture and Revival

កាយវិការ និងការស្តារឡើងវិញ

Queen Sisowath Kossamak reconstructed the Royal Ballet's Apsara dance in the 1960s directly from these reliefs, reading hand positions (kbach) off sandstone. The 4,500 hand-and-body positions of classical Khmer dance remain anchored to this stone corpus.

របាំអប្សរាត្រូវបានស្តារឡើងវិញដោយព្រះមហាក្សត្រិយានី ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ កុសុមៈ ដោយផ្អែកលើចម្លាក់ទាំងនេះ។

Media

Gallery & Sound

វិចិត្រសាល

Play soundscape

Ambient temple soundscape · Pinpeat ensemble

Synthesised tones · In-house Original