Vishnu on the serpent of eternity Khmer art ca... Lot 269

Vishnu on the serpent of eternity Khmer art ca 12th century Painted and gilded stucco. 39 x 42 cm Interesting relief showing Vishnu lying on Ananta on which he falls asleep after the dissolution of the universe. Lakshmi massages his feet. At the end of a period of intermediate resorption between two cosmic eras, Vishnu, the instigator of creation, emits a golden lotus from his umbilicus which makes Brahma hatch and proceed to the creation of a new universe. This iconography seems to have been very popular during the first half of the twelfth century under the reign of Suryavarman II. Provenance: Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes (Paris) (Inv.22548 Acquired in 1978)