Vishnu Anantashayin, Angkor period, 11th century, bronze, Western Prasat Mebon, height 121.8 cm

Cambodia’s temples and their sculptures can be counted as one of the world’s greatest cultural and architectural legacies. This travelling exhibition features some 140 works with many coming from the country’s golden Angkor period (9th to the 13th centuries),  as well as pieces from the pre-Angkorian period. Amongst the works are  monumental sandstone and bronze sculptures. The main lender is the Cambodia National Museum in Phnom Penh, with works also coming from the Guimet Museum’s collection in Paris. The title of the exhibition refers to Angkor Wat, the most well-known temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious edifice in the world.

Mirror holder in the shape of a kneeling woman, Angkor period, Bayon, 12th century, bronze, height 34.2 cm

Portrait head of Jayavarman VII, Angkor period, end of 12th century, sandstone. images National Museum Cambodia, Phnom Penh. © John Gollings

After Bonn and Berlin, this exhibition is entering its third and final phase – on view in Zurich until 2 December. It is due to the generous cooperation of the Cambodia National Museum at Phnom Penh, which lent a large number of its most important art treasures to Europe that has made this exhibition possible, along with the Guimet Museums, which has  the largest Khmer collection outside Cambodia.

The exhibitions runs until 2 December at the Rietberg Museum. Zurich, www.rietberg.ch. A catalogue accompanies the exhibition, in German only, Angkor: Göttliches Erbe Kambodschas, ISBN 978-3-7913-6086-7.

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