Upper gallery of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is the perfect example of the classical style of Khmer architecture the Angkor Wat style-to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become experienced and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) since the main building materials. The majority of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was utilized for the outer wall for hidden architectural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, even though natural resins or slaked lime were suggested.
Click to Watch Video
Angkor Wat has drawn praise most importantly for the tranquility of its style, that has been compared to the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and also the accurate arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and design." Architecturally, the components characteristic of the design include: the ogival, redented towers the same shape as lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear across the main axis of the temple.
Typical decorative components are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is recognized as conservative, being much more static and less elegant than earlier work. Other components of the design were destroyed by looting and the passage of time, such as gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors. The Angkor Wat design was followed by that of the Bayon period, in which quality was often sacrificed to quantity. Other temples in the design are Banteay Samre, Thommanon, Chao Say Tevoda as well as the primary temples of Preah Pithu at Angkor; outside Angkor, Beng Mealea and parts of Phnom Rung and Phimai.
Features
The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is encompassed by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 meters wide. Entry to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Below the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may initially have occupied the temple's central shrine.
Click to Watch Video
Art galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on each side of the gopura also known as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is embellished with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres (203 acres), which apart from the temple proper was formerly occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace.
Like several secular structures of Angkor, they were constructed of perishable materials instead of of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Lots of the area is currently covered by forest. A 350 m causeway links the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on both side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later inclusions in the style, along with the cruciform terrace guarded by lions linking the causeway to the main structure.
Structure
Miniature model of the central structure of Angkor Wat. Within the foreground the cruciform terrace which lies in front of the central building. The temple stands on the terrace elevated higher than the city. It's made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries to be devoted to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu. Every gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Since the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are not so deep than those on the other sides.
Click to Watch Video
The outer gallery calculates 187 by 215 m, with pavilions instead of towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries stretching and buttressing the structure. Linking the outer gallery to the second enclosure at the west side is a cruciform cloister known as Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, even though most have recently been removed. This area has numerous inscriptions relating the good acts of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked by the cloister may originally have been filled up with water. North and south of the cloister are libraries.
Beyong, the second and inner galleries are linked to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may initially were flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru. Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The particular steep stairways signify the problems of ascending to the kingdom of the gods.
This inner gallery, known as the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries joining each gopura with the middle shrine, and additional shrines situated under the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are embellished with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; contrary to those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four.
The shrine itself, initially occupied by a sculpture of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was transformed into Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he saw a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.
Decoration
Devatas are characteristic of the Angkor Wat style. The bas-relief of the Churning of the Sea of Milk shows Vishnu in the middle, his turtle Avatar Kurma below, asuras and devas to right and left, and apsaras and Indra above. Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery keep a series of large-scale scenes mostly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and also the Mahabharata.
Click to Watch Video
Higham has called these, "the ultimate known linear arrangement of stone carving". In the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery displays the Fight of Lanka (in the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Fight of Kurukshetra (in the Mahabharata, displaying the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). At the southern gallery follow the only heritage scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology. Read more: Angkor Wat part 3, finish
Direct links to Angkor Wat:
Angkorwat Pat 1
2.Angkorwat Part 2
3.Angkorwat Part 3
Angkor Wat is the perfect example of the classical style of Khmer architecture the Angkor Wat style-to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become experienced and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) since the main building materials. The majority of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was utilized for the outer wall for hidden architectural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, even though natural resins or slaked lime were suggested.
Angkor Wat has drawn praise most importantly for the tranquility of its style, that has been compared to the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and also the accurate arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and design." Architecturally, the components characteristic of the design include: the ogival, redented towers the same shape as lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear across the main axis of the temple.
Typical decorative components are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is recognized as conservative, being much more static and less elegant than earlier work. Other components of the design were destroyed by looting and the passage of time, such as gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors. The Angkor Wat design was followed by that of the Bayon period, in which quality was often sacrificed to quantity. Other temples in the design are Banteay Samre, Thommanon, Chao Say Tevoda as well as the primary temples of Preah Pithu at Angkor; outside Angkor, Beng Mealea and parts of Phnom Rung and Phimai.
Features
The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is encompassed by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 meters wide. Entry to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Below the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may initially have occupied the temple's central shrine.
Art galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on each side of the gopura also known as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is embellished with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres (203 acres), which apart from the temple proper was formerly occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace.
Like several secular structures of Angkor, they were constructed of perishable materials instead of of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Lots of the area is currently covered by forest. A 350 m causeway links the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on both side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later inclusions in the style, along with the cruciform terrace guarded by lions linking the causeway to the main structure.
Structure
Miniature model of the central structure of Angkor Wat. Within the foreground the cruciform terrace which lies in front of the central building. The temple stands on the terrace elevated higher than the city. It's made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries to be devoted to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu. Every gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Since the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are not so deep than those on the other sides.
The outer gallery calculates 187 by 215 m, with pavilions instead of towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries stretching and buttressing the structure. Linking the outer gallery to the second enclosure at the west side is a cruciform cloister known as Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, even though most have recently been removed. This area has numerous inscriptions relating the good acts of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked by the cloister may originally have been filled up with water. North and south of the cloister are libraries.
Beyong, the second and inner galleries are linked to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may initially were flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru. Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The particular steep stairways signify the problems of ascending to the kingdom of the gods.
This inner gallery, known as the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries joining each gopura with the middle shrine, and additional shrines situated under the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are embellished with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; contrary to those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four.
The shrine itself, initially occupied by a sculpture of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was transformed into Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he saw a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.
Decoration
Devatas are characteristic of the Angkor Wat style. The bas-relief of the Churning of the Sea of Milk shows Vishnu in the middle, his turtle Avatar Kurma below, asuras and devas to right and left, and apsaras and Indra above. Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery keep a series of large-scale scenes mostly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and also the Mahabharata.
Higham has called these, "the ultimate known linear arrangement of stone carving". In the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery displays the Fight of Lanka (in the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Fight of Kurukshetra (in the Mahabharata, displaying the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). At the southern gallery follow the only heritage scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology. Read more: Angkor Wat part 3, finish
Direct links to Angkor Wat:
Angkorwat Pat 1
2.Angkorwat Part 2
3.Angkorwat Part 3
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