Portrait of King Jayavarman VII

The king is represented at a mature age, his face slightly chubby in a posture of humble meditation with lowered eyes. His lips showcase the serene smile famously associated with Angkor. This sculpture is in the Bayon style, (late 12^th century - early 13^th century) a departure from the somewhat impersonal ideal standard of youth and beauty previously in favour. Bayon sculptors adopted a more naturalistic and human-like approach, modelling more sensitive faces sometimes inspired by the King and his contemporaries. These works are very expressive, even while showing great restraint, and reflect the serenity of the soul and of the royal grandeur through devotion.

We know of several statues representing the King at different stages of his life, sitting or worshipping Buddha.

The reign of Jayavarman VII follows a troubled period which ended in 1177 with the siege of Angkor by the Cham. During this era of Khmer revival, and probably because of the loss of trust in the protective powers of Shivaism, Jayavarman VII adopted Mahāyāna Buddhism as the state religion. This change involved new iconographic and aesthetic endeavours and found its main accomplishment in monumental architectural programmes. Art became a vehicle for a properly Cambodian form of Buddhism in which the king embodied the most exemplary devotion. This short-lived yet bright era came to an end with the return to Shivaism in the middle of the 13^th century.