Kőbe faragott viseletek vizsgálata Banteay Sreiben, Kambodzsában

Abstract

The objective of my doctoral research is to interpret the meaning of thecostumes of female figural depictions on the walls of Banteay Srei and ofother contemporary buildings erected in the 10th century. This study couldhopefully also shed new light on the hitherto unsatisfactorily solved questionof the dating of the construction periods of the Banteay Srei sanctuary. Thearchitectural and art historical research of Banteay Srei temple has been afundamental topic in Angkorean research for decades. In 2013 and 2014, I spent altogether six months in Angkor to collect allthe data of the carved and sculpted costume depictions belonging to the socalled Banteay Srei style. I established a complete catalogue of more than550 figural depictions found on site on the walls of Banteay Srei templecomplex (including all human and mythological figures which are depictedwith clothes or jewellery), and also other contemporary edifices found currently in Cambodia and Thailand, as well as in different museum collections all around the world. With the help of this database, I interpreted thedepictions in their cultural, religious, architectural and narrative context. In order to achieve my field research it was crucial to obtain an officialresearch permit issued by the APSARA Authority, the state institution thatis responsible for protecting the Angkor monuments. As a result of my personal presentation, I got the generous support of the Authority and I gainedaccess to several sculptural collections, as well as researchers’ and museumcollection databases. The personal collaboration with young researchers working at the APSARA Authority has made it possible for me to visit and document various monuments in remote areas. To access these ruins, we manytimes relied on the local people, mainly kids, even though we were wellprepared and well equipped with modern navigational knowledge and tools.In addition to the scientific documentation, the greatest achievement of theseresearch trips was that I have learned to trust the guidance of the ’local world’.