Another new book on Cambodia to get your teeth into, will be out at the end of this month in hardcover. Reconstructing God: Style, Hydraulics, Political Power and Angkor’s West Mebon Visnu, written by Dr Marnie Feneley, has been a long time coming, and presents a fully illustrated archaeological and art historical analysis of one of the most important artworks of Angkor, rewriting the chronology of the royal capital. In 1936 a villager’s dream led to the discovery of the West Mebon Visnu, the largest bronze remaining from pre-modern Southeast Asia and currently on display at the National Museum in Phnom Penh. The sculpture, among the museum's most-prized, has toured the world appearing in exhibitions of Khmer art in the USA, Japan and Australia, and is scheduled for restoration in Paris at some stage. The West Mebon temple itself has been under renovation since 2012 and is close to completion. Dr Feneley’s book is 256 pages with 120 pictures and is published by National University of Singapore Press. You can see the author talking about the bronze West Mebon Visnu in this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/0VLbal3-sQM
