Torso of a Male Deity gray sandstone Khmer, Angkor Period, Baphuon Style

The torso of a male deity with a slender waist and broad hips and shoulders, wearing a vertically striated sampot high at the back curving steeply in the front to below the navel, bound by a plain belt tied with the end hanging down onto the right thigh in a 'fishtail', the fabric folded to form overlapping pleats like stylized 'pockets' covering the left thigh and pulled up under the belt with two curled ends just below the navel, the fabric pulled between the legs and wrapped around the belt at the back, the pleated ends forming a 'butterfly wing' shape.

J. J. Klejman, New York, acquired 1970's

The stone is a gray/brown color, generally matt but retaining some polished areas. Irregular breaks at the neck, the left leg just above the knee, the right leg just below mid thigh level and both arms below the shoulder. The right shoulder at the back has a circular area of exfoliation and a hairline crack running in an arch from the shoulder to the waist. Slight scratches and chips to overall surface, a chip on the back lower edge of the right leg and the top edge of the 'butterfly' bow. Overall good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The androgynous and idealized manner of depicting the male form in the Baphuon period has resulted in some of the most sensuous and beautiful sculpture of the Angkor Period.  The elongated body and steep curve at the front of the sampot is characteristic of sculpture from this period, see Denise Patry Leidy, Treasures of Asian Art: The Asia Society's Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3^rd Collection, New York, London, Paris, Abbeville Press, 1994, fig. 88. The hint of movement in an otherwise iconic pose is created by the right leg being positioned slightly forward alluding to a shift of weight onto the left leg, and with the stone lightly polished to give it a luminescence the sculpture, despite its fragmentary nature, exudes power and grace. Compare the form of the body and style of the pleated sampot to a figure in the National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh published in Michael Brand and Chuch Phoeurn, The Age of Angkor: Treasures from the National Museum of Cambodia, Australia, 1992, p. 74, cat. no. 19.