Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Vietnamese era Statue

This statue is under a tree to the south of the entrance to the National Museum. There are many Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monuments in town centers all around the country. These were erected after the  1979 Vietnamese invasion. The statues are normally very large, for example the one below that is in the park in front of Wat Botum in Phnom Penh is about 6 meters high, and appears to be made of stone. They all have a common subject showing a pair of soldiers, presumably a Vietnamese one and a Cambodian one, carrying AK rifles, and then a woman holding a baby in front of them.
What is unusual about the one in the museum grounds is its small size, the figures are smaller than life-size, and made from reinforced concrete. The weathering and lichen on the statue make it look very ancient, although it couldn't be more than 33 years old.

Statue in front of National Museum

Statue on monument in Phnom Penh