DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9541#0706
682
FURTHER INDIA.
Book VIII.
further north and further west for the solution of the riddle: hut, till
we are in possession of the results of the French expedition, it is
premature to speculate.
These great galleried temples may he considered as the most
typical, as they certainly are the most magnificent, of the temples of
the Cambodians; but, hesides these, there are ten or twelve great
temples in Ongcor Thorn and its neighbourhood, which anywhere else
would he considered worthy of attention. Of these, one at Mount
Bakeng,. to the south of the city, is a five-storeyed pyramid, with
sixty small pavilions on its steps, and a platform on its summit, which
is now only encumbered with some debris; hut whether they are the
remains of a Sikra, or whether it was a well-temple like those in Java,
is by no means clear.
To the east of the city is another somewhat similar—a pyramid,
with three storeys, rising to a height of about 50 ft. It, however, is
enclosed in a gallery, measuring 250 ft, each way, and seems to have
had five pavilions on its summit.1
The other temples are not of such magnificence as to justify their
being described here; their interest would be great in a monograph
of the style, but, without illustrations, their dimensions, coupled with
their unfamiliar names, would convey very little information to the
reader.-
Civil Architecture.
The palaces and public buildings of Ongcor seem to be quite worthy
of its temples, either as regards extent or richness of decoration. They
are, however, as might be expected, in a more ruinous state; being-
less monumental in their mode of construction, and, what is more to
our present purpose, they have neither been drawn nor photographed
to such an extent as to render them intelligible.
A view of one of the gates of Ongcor Thorn is given by Lieutenant
Gamier, Plate S ; and as it is as remarkable as anything about the
place, it is to be hoped that full details will be brought home by
the present expedition. Fortunately, it is the gateway described by
1 It would be interesting if among these
ve could identify that one of which the
Chinese traveller gives the following de-
scription :—"A Test de la ville est un
autre temple de l'esprit nomme Fho-to H,
auquel on sacrifie des homines. Chaque
annee le roi va dans ce temple faire lui-
meme un sacrifice humain pendant la
nuit."—' N ouveaux Melanges Asiatiqucs,'
vol. i. p. 83.
'-' At Buribun, on the other side of the
lake, Dr. Bastian informs me there is a
complete copy of the Nakhon Wat sculp-
tures, carved in wood in the ]6th century.
The place was the residence of the kings
of Cambodia after the fall of the capital,
and as original art had then perished,
they took this modo of adorning their
palace. What a prize for any European
museum '
FURTHER INDIA.
Book VIII.
further north and further west for the solution of the riddle: hut, till
we are in possession of the results of the French expedition, it is
premature to speculate.
These great galleried temples may he considered as the most
typical, as they certainly are the most magnificent, of the temples of
the Cambodians; but, hesides these, there are ten or twelve great
temples in Ongcor Thorn and its neighbourhood, which anywhere else
would he considered worthy of attention. Of these, one at Mount
Bakeng,. to the south of the city, is a five-storeyed pyramid, with
sixty small pavilions on its steps, and a platform on its summit, which
is now only encumbered with some debris; hut whether they are the
remains of a Sikra, or whether it was a well-temple like those in Java,
is by no means clear.
To the east of the city is another somewhat similar—a pyramid,
with three storeys, rising to a height of about 50 ft. It, however, is
enclosed in a gallery, measuring 250 ft, each way, and seems to have
had five pavilions on its summit.1
The other temples are not of such magnificence as to justify their
being described here; their interest would be great in a monograph
of the style, but, without illustrations, their dimensions, coupled with
their unfamiliar names, would convey very little information to the
reader.-
Civil Architecture.
The palaces and public buildings of Ongcor seem to be quite worthy
of its temples, either as regards extent or richness of decoration. They
are, however, as might be expected, in a more ruinous state; being-
less monumental in their mode of construction, and, what is more to
our present purpose, they have neither been drawn nor photographed
to such an extent as to render them intelligible.
A view of one of the gates of Ongcor Thorn is given by Lieutenant
Gamier, Plate S ; and as it is as remarkable as anything about the
place, it is to be hoped that full details will be brought home by
the present expedition. Fortunately, it is the gateway described by
1 It would be interesting if among these
ve could identify that one of which the
Chinese traveller gives the following de-
scription :—"A Test de la ville est un
autre temple de l'esprit nomme Fho-to H,
auquel on sacrifie des homines. Chaque
annee le roi va dans ce temple faire lui-
meme un sacrifice humain pendant la
nuit."—' N ouveaux Melanges Asiatiqucs,'
vol. i. p. 83.
'-' At Buribun, on the other side of the
lake, Dr. Bastian informs me there is a
complete copy of the Nakhon Wat sculp-
tures, carved in wood in the ]6th century.
The place was the residence of the kings
of Cambodia after the fall of the capital,
and as original art had then perished,
they took this modo of adorning their
palace. What a prize for any European
museum '