(This article was first published on our partner Cambodianess’ website.)
The restoration of the 10th-century Dancing Shiva statue from Koh Ker has been completed after six years of meticulous work, marking a major milestone in the preservation of Khmer heritage.
By: Meng Seavmey
Considered one of the most complex conservation projects, the effort has brought back to life a significant masterpiece of Cambodian art.
An official ceremony was to be held on March 18 in Siem Reap to mark the completion, presided over by Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona.
She was due to unveil the results of a project led by the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient (EFEO), under the authority of the National Authority for Preah Vihear (NAPV), with support from the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage (ALIPH).
The restoration was led by Eric Bourdonneau, associate professor at EFEO, and Benoit Lafay, sculpture conservator and restorer. The team, composed of experienced conservators and art mounters, worked to reassemble the statue fragment by fragment. The sculpture originally featured ten arms and five heads.
The statue stands about five meters tall and weighs nearly seven tonnes. It collapsed in the 14th century and was shattered into more than 10,000 fragments during the civil war.
Restoration began in 2020, based on archaeological documentation and research initiated in 2012.
The team spent 600 days on restoration and an additional 215 days on structural design and fabrication. They recorded 2,750 fragments with sculpted surfaces and identified more than 700 joins. About 70 percent of the torso has been successfully repositioned.
“This restoration stands as a powerful testament to the efforts undertaken to ensure that looters do not have the final word,” the team said.
The project is considered one of the most complex restoration efforts carried out in partnership with a Cambodian heritage institution. It also provided specialized training in stone conservation for 20 professionals, helping to build local expertise for future work.
ALIPH executive director Valery Freland said the organization was proud to support the project.
“We are proud to have supported bringing back to life an exceptional masterpiece of Khmer heritage, while also strengthening local conservation skills and partnerships for the future,” he said.
