Lintel haven

A lintel found at Prasat Phimai and now kept at the nearby museum, this depicts a hungry simha lion eating foliage

One of the positive features of the outdoor exhibition-cum-storage area at Phimai Museum is that many of the artifacts have explanation signs to provide you with more information about what you are looking at. There are up to fifty lintels or part-lintels under the corrugated iron roof, another ten line the outside wall of the exhibition building and many more are inside. Unfortunately I couldn't gain access to the indoor exhibitions, so that will have to wait for another visit. The outdoor exhibits are in pretty good condition and besides the lintels, there are countless antefixes (miniature temple reproductions that line the upper levels of larger temple towers), lions, nandi, colonettes and other sculptures om display. A treasure trove for an Angkor-phile like myself.

In front of this broken pediment depicting Vishnu, is a miniature sandstone antefix

This row of five standing Buddhas teaching was located at Prasat Phimai

This enormous sandstone antefix shows Yama on his buffalo

Vishnu riding Garuda is depicted on this lintel from Prasat Bai Baek

This lintel, from Prasat Ban Prasat, shows Indra on a 3-headed Airavata above a kala

In this scene from the Ramayana epic, demons battle the monkey army, from Prasat Phimai

The central deity at the top of the lintel is surrounded by followers, giving offerings, from Prasat Phimai