Category:Architectural Art Styles

To view an interactive map of the historic sites associated with each art style, click on the art style page link.

Art Styles - រចនាប័ទ្ម

Please note that the classification of Angkor and pre-Angkor sites by architectural, or art, styles is far from being an exact science and details and dates offered below are approximations only. There is often considerable overlap between categories, with certain sites being stylistically 'ahead of their time' and others - particularly in remoter provinces - displaying 'retro' tendencies. Furthermore, sites were frequently constructed re-using earlier decorations found on-site or nearby, such as lintels and colonettes, so for example, a Kampong Preah style lintel does not necessarily confirm a Kampong Preah date for a temple site.

Also note that we are primarily concerned with architectural rather than sculpture style and categories such as Phnom Da and a late-7th-century Prasat Andet style, are largely applicable to the latter only.

Lintels - ផ្តែរ

A lintel is a horizontal block, set above a door frame, and transferring the weight above onto the 2 vertical columns or colonettes on either side of the opening. In pre-Angkor and Angkor architecture, they are generally rectangular-shaped, sandstone blocks and also feature as important decorative elements of a temple as well as being essential structural features. (The ignorance of the key-stone technique prohibited the use of arches above doors and windows.)

The triangular, (or curved), space between the lintel and corbelled blocks above is known as the pediment, or tympanum, which also performed an important ornamental role. In early, brick temples, lintels were sandstone and pediments often brick with stucco decoration. At later sites both lintel and pediment were sandstone and with its increased use as a construction material, from the 10th-century onwards, staggered - double or triple pediments - became a common feature.

The design of decorative carving on these elements evolved over time and is often used by archaeologists to date a site - especially where no inscription is present. The principal categories of lintels are known as decorative, heraldic and narrative. The former is a simple patterned design - often leaves or foliage - and popular at early sites whereas heraldic style features a figure, (deity) and/or mythical creatures. Narrative designs - common in temples from the 11th-century onwards - display a scene or event, generally of a mythological nature.

Art Style	Image	Sites	Description
Thala Borivat - ថាឡាបរិវ៉ាត់		Wat Bon, Wat Thong Thua, National Museum of Cambodia	Distinctive style with an arch issuing from large makaras on either side with a single, central, medallion featuring a small figure such as Garuda or Surya or a kala head. A similar design, but with 3 medallions, is distinctive of Sambor sites in modern-day Kratie and represents a slightly later sub-category.
Sambor Prei Kuk - សំបូរព្រៃគុក		Prasat Preah Srei, Prasat Sambor (Sambor), National Museum of Cambodia	Usually featuring large makaras, (sometimes with riders), as with Thala Borivat style, but the generally more flattened arch is divided into 3 sections by medallions containing small figures of deities or mythical beasts. (Central one is often Indra.)
Prei Khmeng - ព្រៃក្មេង		Prasat Kok Roka (Kampong Thom), National Museum of Cambodia	Makaras are often replaced by figures while the arch is less curved. 3 medallions or frames also feature figures such as Indra while a depiction of Vishnu on Ananta is often seen replacing the pendant design below the arch.
Kampong Preah - កំពង់ព្រះ		Prasat Phum Prasat (Kampong Thom), Prasat Kok Roka (Kampong Thom), Prasat Andaet (Prasat), Prasat Tao,	Often purely decorative and lacking figures. A flattened arch is separated into 6 sections while clumps of foliage replace medallions as well as side figures. In a distinctive later sub-category, the arch becomes a garland of leaves.
Kulen - គូលែន		Prasat Damrei Krap, Prasat Trapeang Phong, Prasat Prei Monti	Considerable variation with notable Cham influences and generally showing more intricate and complex designs than Kampong Preah style. Outward-facing makaras reappear with a central kala figure usually in the upper section. Foliage swirls fill spaces above and below a central garland.
Preah Ko - ព្រះគោ		Prasat Bakong, Prasat Kutisvara, Prasat Lolei, Prasat Preah Ko (Siem Reap)	Deveoping the Kulen style, this category features some of the most intricate, detailed lintels yet seen. Outward-facing nagas replace makaras on each side while the naga's body replaces the vegetal garland. A central, upper-placed, kala and multiple small figures are common.
Bakheng - បាខែង		Prasat Phnom Bakheng, Prasat Phnom Kraom, Prasat Baksei Chamkrong	A generally much-simplified version of the previous Preah Ko style, lacking the numerous small figures but featuring nagas and a central kala. The naga body forming the arch noticeably dips towards the centre while vegetal scrolls fill spaces above and below above and below.
Koh Ker - កោះកែរ		Prasat Thom (Koh Ker), Prasat Chrap (Koh Ker), Prasat Krachap, Prasat Kravan	Large central figure or deity may replace a kala while a narrow upper register appears featuring a repetitive row of small figures. The category is restricted to a short timeframe, as well as geographically, and few examples can still be seen in situ.
Pre Rup - ប្រែរូប		Prasat Pre Rup, Prasat Mebon Khang Kaeut, Prasat Bat Chum	Eclectic period featuring elements of earlier styles. Lintels are often highly intricate featuring numerous smaller figures around a centrally-placed deity, while wider sandstone blocks are used and include upper and occasionally lower registers or repeated figures.
Banteay Srei - បន្ទាយស្រី		Prasat Banteay Srei, Prasat Krachap	Highly intricate deep reliefs. The central garland is split into 2 separate arches by a large figure or deity - each arch also commonly featuring a kala. Small, inward-facing makaras on each side emerge from naga mouths while tightly packed foliage swirls fill any spaces. Examples are restricted almost entirely to the single, eponymously-named, site.
Khleang - ឃ្លាំង		Prasat Phimeanakas, Prasat Ek Phnom, Prasat Phnom Chisor, Prasat Snoeng Khang Lech, Wat Phu	Covers a wide range of styles and timeframe. Lintels are often of simple design and much narrower than Pre Rup style) with central kala surmounted by a deity and naga body and/or makaras emerging from the kala's mouth. Simple narrative scenes are popular as central features such as the various Krishna myths as well as heraldic designs featuring Shiva on Nandi, Yama, Indra or Vishvakarma. A later Khleang-style, which may overlap with Baphuon, features simple, cartoon-like narrative reliefs (with single or double registers) such as at Prasat Snoeng Khang Lech.
Baphuon - បាពួន		Prasat Baphuon, Prasat Mebon Khang Lech	Narrative scenes continue to be popular - often with minimal vegetation as per late Khleang-style. Vishnuite/Krishna scenes are commonly displayed above a central kala which divides the garland or naga body into 2 sections. A narrow upper register is often seen.
Angkor Wat - អង្គរវត្ត		Prasat Angkor Wat, Prasat Phanom Rung, Prasat Thommanon, Prasat Banteay Samre, Prasat Beng Mealea	Generally wide, 'busy' and elaborate lintels often featuring narrative scenes with centrally placed Krishna and Vishnu images again popular. The central garland is split into 2 almost rectangular sections, as per Baphuon-style, each of which is often surmounted by a figure, kala or occasionally garuda.
Bayon - បាយ័ន		Prasat Bayon, Prasat Ta Prohm (Siem Reap), Prasat Preah Khan (Siem Reap), Prasat Banteay Chhmar, Prasat Banteay Kdei	A large number of sites create a wide range of styles. Buddhist scenes - heraldic and narrative - predominate with Lokeshvara the most frequently seen deity though Hindu iconography continues. Lintels are somewhat simpler than Angkor Wat style.

Colonettes

Colonettes are the columns or pillars on either side of a door frame serving both decorative purposes as well as supporting the lintel. In Angkorian temples they are carved from sandstone and, as with lintels, changing design over time can be indicative of approximate construction date. They can be particularly useful in dating early sites where, as one of the few sandstone elements, they may remain visible when brickwork is long gone. Correspondingly, this does mean that they are also one of the most reused elements.

The earliest colonettes, from the late 6th to early-7th century (e.g. Sambor Prei Kuk), were generally rounded and plain with added decoration coming in during the 8th century and Prei Khmeng and Kampong Preah periods. From the 9th-century onwards more elaborate octagonal colonettes came into fashion.

Pediments