Southern Cambodia, Takeo Province, Phnom Da / c. 600
Upper stele with hand for Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Upper stele with hand for Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan as sculpture (Southern Cambodia, Takeo Province, Phnom Da · c. 600).
Gold earrings were once fastened to the sculpture using holes in the figure's earlobes.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as Sandstone.
The museum's collection notes: This masterwork of early Cambodian sculpture shows the Hindu god Krishna effortlessly holding aloft a mountain to protect his fellow villagers and herds from torrential storms sent by a jealous old god. It is one of eight monumental monolithic figures recovered from a two-peaked mountain in the floodplains of the Mekong River delta, on the outskirts of the ancient urban center of Angkor Borei.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtUpper stele with hand for Krishna Lifting Mount GovardhanOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.