PHNOM PENH, Feb 22 (NNN-AKP) – Centuries-old Buddha’s right footprint statue, weighing about three tonnes, is on public display at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum in north-west Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, the Apsara National Authority (ANA) said.
The exhibition would help members of the public research, study, and understand important information about religion, arts, and history, with events that took place more than 600-700 years ago in the famed Angkor Archaeological Park, said the ANA, which is the government agency responsible for managing, safeguarding and preserving the Angkor.
Kun Phally, head of the exhibition team and guide at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum, said, the footprint statue is 2.1 metres long, 1.15 metres wide, and 31 centimetres high.
“The ancient sandstone Buddha footprint was carved between the 14th and 16th centuries,” he said. “In the centre of the Buddha footprint statue, there is a wheel with 16 spokes, and there are 108 different carvings around the wheel.”
The Buddha footprint statue was painted in black, red, and gold, Phally said, adding that, studies showed that, in the past, the Buddha footprint statue was considered by Cambodian Buddhists as an important object for worship and was kept at the Angkor Wat’s One Thousand Buddhas Gallery from the 14th century until 1985.
He added that later, the Buddha footprint statue was taken to be preserved and restored by the Angkor Conservation Team, before being exhibited at the museum.
Located in Siem Reap city, the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum is open to national and international tourists from Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, the ANA said.– NNN-AKP
