This is a sandstone statue of two monkeys named Valin and Sugriva, locked in mortal combat. Originally this statue belongs in the gallery at the Eastern Gate of Prasat Chen, of the Koh Ker monumental group, in the Kulen district, Preah Vihear Province.
The gallery almost entirely collapsed long ago, sending broken brick down onto the statue below. A team from the Angkor Conservation Office in Siem Reap, led by Henri Pourmentier, excavated the statue and presented it for registration into the collection of the National Museum of Cambodia in 1952.
Khmer art experts have determined that it is in the Koh Ker style of the 10th century Angkorian era under the reign of Jayawardman IV from the year 921 to 941 CE. It is likely this sculpture was inspired by a scene in the Ramayana where Valin and Sugriva were in conflict. Valin the older brother had ascended to the throne and Sugriva in fighting against his brother turned to Rama an avatar of Vishnu, for help.
In this fight, Valin died after he hit in the back by an arrow shot by Rama. Sugriva repay this gratitude to Rama, by assisting him to find his consort Sita, who is kidnapped by Ravana, the demon king. In this sculpture, both statues standing on a platform, have body forms that resemble humans, but they have tails and monkey faces.
It looks likely and reflects the characteristics of the Koh Ker style. Both combatants are wearing a chorng kben garments. The fronts of these garments have two long objects that are attached to the base. In reality, these could be pieces of the garments they both wears. Here they make from sandstone, with a clear purpose to help stabilize the two monkeys.
This reflects the ingenuity of the artists. who worked on the sculpture. The tails of the garments are hooked tight inside the waistbands. Again, this reflects the thoughtfulness of the artists, they must have foreseen that garments could fall from fighting bodies so they had to be depicted properly fastened. These display of bulging chest, high ponytails, and clenched fists vividly portray the explosive energy of these battling monkeys.