The harps of Bayon

This harp is represented inside a volute decoration of the northern sanctuary tower BY.20 of the third floor of the Bayon (closed to the public from January 1, 2020 for work). We are publishing here the original and a colorized version because the contours of the instrument and the musician are imprecise due to erosion. We will notice the particular position of the musician. His right hand is placed on the strings and his left hand seems to approach or hold the top of the neck, like the three harps on the lintels of the eastern pavilion of Banteay Chhmar. The musician is associated with a temple dancer located just below him. Apart from this duo, the other volutes offer images with no apparent relation to this one.

A harpist of exceptional beauty is carved on a pilaster in the east outer gallery, south bay. She accompanies a sacred dancer facing her on a pillar. We only discovered it late in the chronology of our research, as it was so difficult to see. We had to inspect every face of every pillar and pilaster in the Bayon to finally discover it in December 2017. The colorization highlights the details. Given the position of this image, it is a temple musician, since it is located on a passageway through which the sacred dancers went to the dancers' hall in the southeast corner. This corridor is now closed off following architectural remodeling.

The harpist, seen from behind, wears a bun. Her ear has a long, split lobe. Her right hand rests on the strings near the neck. Her left forearm is in front of the strings instead of behind them. This same misinterpretation has been noted on a bas-relief in the outer south-east gallery. 

The harp is large in relation to the musician.This seems justified by the number of strings (approx. 21).Despite the fact that the harpist is shown in front of her instrument, both ends of the soundbox are visible.The front foot, however, is not.The tuning device is partly visible: 9 or 10 equidistant pegs are visible at the top of the neck.The top decoration is unclear.

This harpist is depicted on a pilaster in the south outer gallery, east bay. She would have welcomed the sacred dancers arriving from the west via the south corridor, in the image of the dancing masters. So, here again, it's a temple musician. 

The sculpture is of poor quality. The instrument has 7 parallel strings and the soundbox has a foot at the front. Contrary to most representations, the harp does not lie flat but at a slight angle. There may have been a soundhole under the soundbox.

This sculpture faces the previous one. The setting is unique. The quality of the workmanship is poor, but the essential information is present. A singer stands behind the harpist. Note his outstretched hand and open mouth. The harpist is wearing a bun. She is shown in the same position as the harpist in the outer east gallery, south bay. The sound box has a front foot and lies flat. The tuning device features 14 pegs and almost as many strings.

As in the previous image, these two figures welcomed the sacred dancers entering the salle aux danseuses from the west.

Over the ages and depending on the context, music has sometimes been represented by a single instrument, generally cymbals. The choice of this instrument is not insignificant: it symbolizes both the beating heart of the orchestra as well as the Moon and the Sun, two stars which punctuate the seasons and organize the ritual and agricultural calendar.

At Bayon, for the first time, the harp symbolizes music, where the sculptor did not have the space to represent an orchestra. Two of these representations are on the third floor of the Bayon, east side, adjoining the two queens Indradevi and Jayarajadevi, wives of King Jayavarman VII. These two miniature and minimalist scenes depict the splendor of the court. We see the king with his triconical crown under a parasol, fanned by a servant, harpists, dancers and people from the court or guests. Despite the smallness of the harps, we will notice the foot at the front of the resonance box and the elegant shape of the neck. Like the instrument on the pilaster of the south exterior gallery, east bay, the resonance box is not parallel to the ground, but shows an angle which could suggest that a sound hole perhaps existed under the instrument. This representation of a harp as the only instrument symbolizing music is all the more exceptional as it replaces the monotone zither, the melodic conductor of the orchestra. We bet that the aesthetic beauty of the harp has supplanted the hierarchical rationality of the orchestra! Unless we have chosen to use this symbol of masculinity at the expense of the zither, symbol of femininity.

This hijacked image shows the hierarchical structure of Khmer royalty. In the first register, probably representatives of the army. In the second, a court orchestra with two dancers, a singer, a harpist and a zither player playing in front of guests. On the third, King Jayavarman VII in the center, surrounded by his two wives and servants. Fourth, apsaras. The Royal Palace buildings, vegetation, parasols and banners are clearly visible.

This bas-relief is located in the same alcove as the previous one, to its right. It is eroded, but can still be deciphered. We've colorized it to make it easier to distinguish its various components.

In the first register, the dancers, two singers and the court orchestra. In the upper register, King Jayavarman VII with, behind him, his two wives. Behind them, a dancing mistress, recognizable by the position of her hand and fingers, like those of the dancers below. In the third register, two apsaras.

This Palatine orchestra is one of the most complete in the world, as the string instruments are duplicated. From left to right, it comprises: a female singer, recognizable by her bun, open mouth and outstretched index finger; a first female cithara player; a female scraper player; two harpists; a second female cithara player; a second female singer playing cymbals; the latter also wears a bun rather than a crown.

According to PhalikaN's interpretation, at center stage, above the orchestra, the Queen and King pay tribute to the latter's father. Note the royal protocol: the Queen sits behind the King, lower than he, and the King himself sits lower than his father. The three figures increase in height from left to right. Note the roof of the Royal Palace and the knotted curtains. The presence of an orchestra and dancing girls attest to the solemnity of the occasion.

In the lower register, a string orchestra, two dancers and spectators. The architectural peculiarity of this bas-relief lies in its layout. The sculptor has extended the scene over a corner return to the left. From left to right, two zither players, a cymbal player, a harpist, a singer, two dancers and five spectators can be seen. The missing instrument, compared with similar scenes in the Bayon, is the scraper.

The harp's overall shape is typical of Khmer harps from the Bayon period. Here, the number of strings is around 18 or 19. Despite erosion, the tuning pegs are still visible in the form of small circles wherever there was a depression (with a margin of error).  The recessed gap in front of the resonator and the singer represents the harp foot.

The location of this bas-relief is cramped and corresponds to an architectural redesign. The stone blocks an access to the Hall of Dancers in the southeast pavilion of the Bayon. It appears to be a reused block, as it contains numerous holes. 

For the orchestra, from right to left: a singer, a scraper, a harpist and a cymbal player. For lack of space, the sculptor chose not to depict the zither. We believe that the location of this stone may have been the site of the religious orchestra, with the dancers performing in the dance hall itself.

Some scenes from the Bayon feature orchestras with similar structures, animating dances that could be described as acrobatic. 

In Indian mythology, the dance postures shown in scenes 1 to 4, with one leg raised vertically and the opposite arm raised above the head, were called ūrdhvatāṇḍava (Sanskrit). They evoked Śiva's victory in a dance competition with Kālī.

This scene - south outer gallery, east bay - features some comical anomalies, perhaps deliberately introduced by the sculptor to accentuate the satirical aspect.

The cymbal player has two right hands and is showing his teeth, a highly unusual feature; he is probably the second singer.

The position of the zither player, seen from behind, is inappropriate, as his left arm should be at the top, but is at the bottom. Still on the subject of the zither shown in profile, the lower part of the stick should be raised to catch the string, but it stops dead in its tracks. Clearly, all the musicians are smiling wryly.

The harpist's left arm, instead of passing behind the harp, passes in front of it, which seems to imply that he too has two right hands. What's more, the number of strings on his instrument doesn't correspond to any tangible reality.A rare feature in Angkorian iconography proper (in contrast to the pre-Angkorian era), the harp is tuned with a necklace device and not with pegs.