Warrior Copper Alloy Khmer, Angkor period, Koh Ker style

A dynamic male figure in a battle pose with arms raised to shoulder height, both broken above the elbow, the back arched and legs splayed apart, the right foot attached to possibly the top of a finial, the left leg raised, wearing a short pleated sampot with a semi-circular over-fold covering the belt at the front, adorned with a diadem encircling a stepped crown and long lotiform earrings.

Spink and Son Ltd, London, acquired 1984

One of the characteristics of Koh Ker period sculpture is the depiction of activity and in this example motion is masterfully rendered. The piece was probably the emblem on a military standard and the use of such standards throughout the Ankgor period is demonstrated in the Historical Procession bas-relief at Angkor Wat (south gallery of the west wing) illustrated Albert le Bonheur, Of Gods, Kings and Men: Bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat and Bayon, London, 1995, p. 31.