Brahma at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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This representation of Brahma, the Brahmanical god of creation and ancestor of all universes, is understood to be omnipresent. Hense he is depicted with four faces and four arms, evoking his universality. Brahma's skirt-cloth (sampot) is in the Bakheng style, widely favored in the early tenth century and named after sculptures associated with the Bakheng temple. It is knee length, is drawn up between the legs and secured at the back, and has distinctive pleasted "double anchor" or "fishtail" pendant in front. The piled-up dreadlock hair (jatamukuta) is multifaced to reflect the four faces it serves, and is secured with a string of pearls; each face of Brahma wears a large diadem, and a speckled treatment of the lower face indicates that he is bearded. This sculpture would have occupied a subsidiary shrine at a temple complex dedicated in all likelihood to Shiva. It originates from Cambodia and is created in the Bakheng style from the Angkor period which was the first quarter of the 10th Cenutry. It is made out of sandstone.   This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.