Cambodian - Piece of Native Iron,

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A piece of iron that is 4.9 x 10.7cm overall and is a clumped structure. The color is black with rusting throughout.

Cambodian

Piece of Native Iron,

Iron, 4.9 x 10.7 cm (1 15/16 x 4 3/16 in.)

Short Gallery

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Commentary

Isabella Gardner was given two religious sculptures in Cambodia in 1883. She tucked a note into her Southeast Asian album that reads: “Vishnu from Angkor Thom. Little Vishnu and piece of native iron from the Camb. interpreter Mr. Hunter.” Her diary confirms that in Phnom Penh Hunter gave her a Vishnu (p. 256, presented November 22). The piece of iron is displayed in the same case in the Short Gallery of the Gardner Museum.

Source: “Objects from Cambodia and Java,” in Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia, edited by Alan Chong and Noriko Murai (Boston: ISGM and Gutenberg Periscope, 2009): 456.