Home » Images » 0004 Pictures From History » CPA0001759

Cambodia: A smiling apsara at Angkor Wat - this apsara is the only one out of almost two thousand at Angkor Wat who is showing her teeth (11th century)

In 1927, Sappho Marchal, the 23-year-old daughter of Henri Marchal who was overseeing restoration of monuments at Angkor Wat at the time, published a book on the hairstyles, clothes and jewelry of 1,737 images of various apsara she had recorded on the walls and columns of Angkor Wat. It remains probably the most complete account of the many apsara, thevada and other celestial females at Angkor Wat to the present day.

Only one of the 1,737 apsara is smiling and showing her teeth. She is located on the inner side of the west portico, just south of the gopuram, almost concealed behind the gateway. It is now generally accepted that many of the apsara represented or were otherwise based upon real women of the Angkor court, but the reason for the - slightly bizarre - toothy grin remains a mystery.

Perhaps one of the Angkor stonemasons was in the mood to create something different for a change, or perhaps he had a real earthly maiden in mind - or on his mind.

Angkor Wat was built for King Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-50) in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the Angkor site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.