Narrative reliefs from the SW and NW corner pavilions of Angkor Wat
This study examines the religious and social meaning of the reliefs from the western corner pavilions of the temple of Angkor Wat (12th century AD.). It investigates how visual narrative was articulated by the Khmer, and how the reliefs contributed to the sacredness of the temple and the consolidation Suryavarman II's kingship. In Part I (Chapterl), after a brief introduction on the political and religious status of Cambodia at the time of Suryavarman II, the Indian texts to which the stories of the reliefs refer are extensively discussed. After a critical analysis of the literature available on the reliefs of the corner pavilion, a detailed examination of the reliefs of the south-western and north-western pavilions is then presented in order to establish the base for their interpretation. For a better understanding it was essential to study, even if briefly, narrative reliefs from other sites of the temple. Part II (Chapter 1) deals with the use of semiotics, seeking a level of meaning of the reliefs underlying that revealed by iconography. Semiotics provides the possibility of an analytical practice, of describing and explaining the process and structures through which meanings are constituted. This is followed
Roveda, Vittorio
Cambodia; Temples; 12th century AD
Narrative reliefs from the SW and NW corner pavilions of Angkor Wat. This study examines the religious and social meaning of the reliefs from the western corner pavilions of the temple of Angkor Wat (12th century AD.). It investigates how visual narrative was articulated by the Khmer, and how the reliefs contributed to the sacredness of the temple and the consolidation Suryavarman II's kingship. In Part I (Chapterl), after a brief introduction on the political and religious status of Cambodia at the time of Suryavarman II, the Indian texts to which the stories of the reliefs refer are extensively discussed. After a critical analysis of the literature available on the reliefs of the corner pavilion, a detailed examination of the reliefs of the south-western and north-western pavilions is then presented in order to establish the base for their interpretation. For a better understanding it was essential to study, even if briefly, narrative reliefs from other sites of the temple. Part II (Chapter 1) deals with the use of semiotics, seeking a level of meaning of the reliefs underlying that revealed by iconography. Semiotics provides the possibility of an analytical practice, of describing and explaining the process and structures through which meanings are constituted. This is followed
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