Introduction to the Exhibition: Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory

May 2012 - Helen I. Jessup, guest curator of Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory. To celebrate the opening of Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory at the National Gallery of Art on June 29, 1997, exhibition curator Helen I. Jessup provided an overview of the first comprehensive exhibition of Cambodian sculpture to be shown in the United States. The exhibition—on view through September 28, 1997—presented 99 works spanning more than 1,000 years, from the 6th to the 16th century, many from the collections of the National Museum of Phnom Penh and the Musée Guimet in Paris. Included were statuary, monumental works in sandstone, and sculpted architectural elements. The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, the Royal Government of Cambodia, and the Réunion des musées nationaux/Musée national des Arts asiatiques-Guimet, Paris.