2 Lindemann Vishnu sculptures:
The most benevolent of the Hindu trinity of gods, Vishnu, is acknowledged as The Preserver and whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos and destruction, Vishnu will appear, usually in the form of an avatar as a human or animal, to restore the cosmic order. That’s his specific role, alongside two other deities, Shiva and Brahma. In addition to his own image, he is bestowed with ten avatars including Rama, Krishna and more. Hence why sculptures of Vishnu were common from the end of the sixth century onwards. Two more of the stone statues that were repatriated to Cambodia in July of this year, represent Vishnu, but have not yet been seen by the public, due to inadequate space to display them at the National Museum. Both statues are from the pre-Angkor period dating from the latter end of the sixth century and through to the eighth century, as the watery Funan heartland of Phnom Da and Angkor Borei, gave way to the dominance of Chenla and Sambor Prei Kuk, known then as Ishanapura, east of the Tonle Sap Lake. This was before Angkor was established on Phnom Kulen at the beginning of the ninth century. He can be shown with two arms or four, as in these examples, both of which were in the private collection of the Lindemann family in the United States. Four-armed Vishnu sculptures often included a retaining arch of the original stone block to support the head, arm and attributes held in the hands – which would in most cases be the discus, conch shell, a ball representing earth and a mace. Both of our examples are wearing a typical cylindrical miter headdress of that period. Their dress styles are variable with one of the sampots tied just under the navel then fanning out into a central fishtail series of pleats, while the other is much longer and has one central pleat acting as a stable support by falling between the feet. That particular Vishnu has remarkably retained all his attributes, two of which are secured by struts at the rear of his head. He has a rather stern facial look, a puffed-out chest and muscly arms and legs, with no other body decoration. The other, much-slimmer Vishnu is an earlier creation but is in a more damaged state, missing sections of both legs and three of his arms, only the hand holding the discus remains. His facial expression is gentler, eyes are open, thick lips and well-formed elongated earlobes denoting his wisdom and compassion.
A treasure trove of 33 Khmer antiquities were repatriated to Cambodia from the United States and arrived on 26 July 2024. They were initially exhibited at the Peace Palace for the very first time and some of them have been placed on display at the National Museum. They once graced the plush home of billionaire couple and prominent art collectors, Frayda and the late George Lindemann. Photographs inside the couple’s mansion appeared in Architectural Digest magazine in 2008, opening the curtain on their passion for Khmer artworks, which were prevalent throughout the home. Their Palm Beach, Florida residence was demolished in recent years though it’s understood some of the art pieces passed to the couple’s daughter. In 2021 another Architectural Digest magazine article focused on the San Francisco home of Sloan Lindemann Barnett, their daughter, which was deemed ‘the most beautiful house in America.’ Included was a photo of a lavish courtyard with several empty pedestals off to one side, though the picture was doctored and actually featured stone heads from Angkor Thom. Fast forward to September 2023 and the Lindemann family voluntarily handed-over 33 art pieces, without the fear of prosecution, which was the culmination of more than three years of investigative work by Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and Cambodian authorities. The main supplier of these looted sculptures to the Lindemann family was the disgraced art smuggler Douglas Latchford, who ran an international trafficking network from his headquarters in Bangkok for more than fifty years. It’s believed to have cost the Lindemann’s at least USD20 million to acquire these treasures over the course of several decades. I’ve included a few photographs from the Architectural Digest magazine in 2008, one of which clearly shows the damaged Vishnu highlighted above.