AKP Phnom Penh, April 30, 2025 --

The “Angkor Royal Bronzes: Art of the Divine” exhibition officially opens today at the Guimet Museum in Paris, France, and will run for four months.

A delegation from Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, led by H.E. Minister Phoeurng Sackona, departed for France earlier this week to participate in the opening ceremony. The temporary exhibition is jointly organised by the Guimet Museum, the French School of the Far East (EFEO), the Centre for Research and Restoration of French Museums (C2RMF), and the National Museum of Cambodia.

Among the 127 bronze masterpieces on display is a remarkable statue of reclining Vishnu, which has been restored in France since 2024. Originally measuring over five metres in length and 4.5 metres in height, this exceptional work is considered an unparalleled masterpiece of Cambodian art.

The 11th-century bronze sculpture was discovered in 1936 at the West Mebon Temple within the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap province by French curator Maurice Glaize. It remains the largest bronze statue ever unearthed at the Angkor site.

“The Royal Government, under the leadership and long-term vision of Samdech Thipadei Prime Minister, has always prioritised culture as a key component of diplomacy, with the aim of reinforcing national identity, promoting tourism, and preparing for Cambodia’s hosting of the Francophonie Summit next year,” stated the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. “Cambodia takes immense pride in its ancestral heritage, which—despite being thousands of years old—continues to serve as the country’s greatest ambassador on the world stage.”

Following its run in France, the exhibition will travel to the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minnesota, United States, in late 2025. In early 2026, the large reclining Vishnu statue will continue its international journey with stops at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, where it will remain on display until early 2027.

By C. Nika