A tower from Angkor Thom, cut down to two inches and still carrying its stonework.

The Bayon Face Tower Cambodian Pendant takes the shape of the tower itself rather than framing a face inside a plate. It tapers upward the way the real thing does, and the whole surface is worked with the joint lines of the masonry — a fine grid of sandstone blocks running across the cheeks, the brow and the tiers above. That single decision is what makes it read as carved stone instead of polished metal.

The front face wears the expression the Bayon is known for: eyes lowered, brows level, a broad closed-mouth smile. A second face turns out to either side, so the piece looks in more than one direction the way the towers do above Angkor Thom.

Above the brow sits a carved diadem of lotus-bud forms, and the tower rises behind it in stepped courses of stylised petals, each register cut separately. Between the faces run narrow vertical panels of palmette ornament.

At the base is a terrace worked with Khmer kbach flame-and-scroll motifs over a course of horizontal lines standing in for the temple steps.

The back is a solid plate, polished and engraved: a fine ruled ground with Angkor Wat and Khmer lettering set into the centre. It is a finished face in its own right rather than a blank.

The piece is hollow with a solid back, which is what keeps a two-inch tower at a weight you can actually wear.

The Bayon was built at the end of the twelfth century at the centre of Angkor Thom, and its towers carry more than two hundred of these faces looking out over the old Khmer capital.

Why You’ll Love It:

• Hollow with a Solid Back – Full two-inch tower at a wearable weight; no stones and no plating
• Carved Masonry Texture – Stone joint lines running across every surface, faces included
• Faces to Front and Side – The multi-directional arrangement of the real towers
• Engraved Reverse – Angkor Wat and Khmer lettering cut into a ruled ground on the back plate
• Khmer Ornament – Lotus-bud diadem, stepped petal courses and kbach scrollwork at the terrace

Made to order, turnaround time is typically 2-4 weeks.

Specifications

Estimated Weight by Purity