30 years after Khmer Rouge, killing fields, Cambodia grows new generation of art conservators
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
In a side wing of Phnom Penh鈥檚 National Museum, Noeun Von is slowly bringing a piece of his culture back to life.
He casts a cloth over a bronze Buddha, removing the dust that has settled on the figure. When this piece was first unearthed, the figure鈥檚 head had been detached from its body. But now the piece has been meticulously repaired, allowing the intricate details on the centuries-old bronze to be revealed.
Mr. Von鈥檚 handiwork, and that of his colleagues in the five-year-old metals conservation laboratory, will be on display this year in the United States as part of 鈥淕ods of Angkor,鈥� a major exhibition of the work of Khmer bronze casters hosted by the Smithsonian Institution.
More than a presentation of Cambodia鈥檚 precious art, however, the exhibition will also shine a spotlight on the skilled professionals working to preserve this country鈥檚 culture.
An entire generation of conservators was lost in the killing fields during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. After the Khmer Rouge was ousted from power in 1979, preservation of invaluable Khmer artifacts was left largely to the foreign conservators who ventured into the country. Slowly, however, that has changed.
Through a training partnership with the Smithsonian鈥檚 Freer and Sackler galleries, a new crop of young museum professionals has risen to replace the lost generation.
鈥淲e can run the lab and do the conservation by ourselves,鈥� says Huot Samnang, who heads the laboratory. 鈥淪tep by step, we鈥檙e becoming self-sufficient.鈥�
The 鈥淕ods of Angkor鈥� will display some of the first pieces preserved entirely by the laboratory 鈥� a series of seven bronze Buddhist images. It is of no small significance in a country where cultural identity is intertwined with its rich Angkorian heritage.
鈥淲e feel proud of this exhibition,鈥� Mr. Samnang says. 鈥淲e can let the world know about our culture and the craftsmen that produced this incredible art.鈥�
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