Deified King

This sculpture, likely of a deified king, originates from the Champa Kingdom, in what is today South Vietnam. A sculptor carved its bold forms at the height of the kingdom’s strength, when Champa maintained economic, political, and religious links with China, India, and the Khmer civilization in Cambodia. Champa rulers endorsed the concept of deified kingship, and their stylized portraits were at times integrated into court-sponsored Hindu and Buddhist temples, to which this sculpture might have once belonged. Enthroned, the king sits in a yogic posture holding lotus flowers in his outstretched hands, emphasizing his purity. The texture of the necklace beads resemble Rudraksha seeds, associated with the Hindu god Shiva, to whom Champa kings were devotees. His hairstyle, in elaborate braids, also refers to the powerful deity.