“This lintel is made of sandstone. Conservationists collected this object from Bonteay Kdey, Siem Reap Province, to exhibit and later register into the collection of the National Museum of Cambodia. Based on a study of its carved patterns and decorative elements, this lintel was made in the Bayon style, during the late 12th or early 13th century, of the Angkorian period.
The center of this lintel, has a divinity seated on a platform, with a rectangular column capital. He is carved in a niche which has a lotus petal shape. His face looks straight ahead and appear clam with a smile. His head is adorned with a stupa-shaped chignon, and his right hand holds a stick up to his forehead.
His left-hand rests on his thigh, with all fingers sloping downward. The pedestal he is seated it on is supporting by the head of the Rahu. Here the other sculpted Rahu in the way that show him trying hard to supported the weight of the capital and the divinity.
The head wears a double-layered crown; its eyes are wide open, and so is his mouth exposing the teeth. The hands appear to be grasping the floral stems to put in his mouth. The stems support six human figures, that hold their palm together in worship. The stems are also adorned in intertwined floral motifs. They too are lively and creatively crafted.
In the history of Khmer architecture, lintels are mostly made of sandstone. They were usually sculpted in rectangular shapes to decorate the entrance, door, or false door of a temple. Besides being a decorative element, they also serve a very important function which were to supporting the weight of the monument.