The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Meas Khim (left), an employee of the National Museum of Cambodia, with Catherine Millikan, a conservator from Australian National Gallery (ANG, and now National Gallery of Australia) in front of an early thirteenth century carving from Angkor Thom which formed part of the 'Age of Angkor' exhibition at the ANG in 1992. During the Khmer Rouge regime, most of the 90 French trained conservators and curators were murdered, the museum looted and records destroyed in a deliberate Khmer Rouge policy which aimed to 'abolish, uproot and disperse the cultural, literary and artistic remnants of the imperialists, colonialists and all of the other oppressor classes'. Meas Khim, now head of the stone restoration workshop, was the first surviving National Museum employee to return to work in 1979, and by the time the Museum reopened in 1980, six of the original staff had returned, while many of the new employees were relatives of staff murdered by the Khmer Rouge. Conditions in the museum, built in Phnom Penh in 1918 by the French just north of the Royal Palace, and originally named Musee Albert Sarraut in honor of the French governor-general of Indochina, reflected the years of neglect - no water or telephone, only intermittent electricity and severe structural problems caused by termites in the foundations. The ANG chose Millikan to manage an Australian Government funded conservation project designed to train the Cambodian staff in museum practices, maintenance and cleaning. The carving represents Buddha (centre) calling the earth to witness his victory over the evil Mara.
This colour image was originally reproduced in black and white in 'Shooting at the Moon' and is only available in colour.
Australian journalist Marje Prior 'interviews' a bust of one of the Khmer kings at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The Museum had suffered years of neglect during the genocidal Khmer Ro
Staff of the National Museum of Cambodia pose with Australian National Gallery (ANG, and now National Gallery of Australia) conservator Catherine Millikan (centre) in one of the Museum's galleries amo
An imposing sculpture of a winged Hindu demigod (possibly a 'yaksha') dominates the Main Gallery of the National Museum of Cambodia as light streams through an open shutter, the inside panels of which
A statue of the Buddha sits under a decorated pagoda in the central courtyard of the National Museum of Cambodia. Designed by the French archaeologist George Groslier to reflect the wide range of trad
The central spires of the National Museum of Cambodia tower 38 metres above one of the four ornamental, lotus filled ponds that make up the building's inner courtyard. Designed by the French archaeolo
Piles of wood, building materials, a hand drawn cart and two large bells (possibly collection items) crowd the rear courtyard of Cambodia's National Museum in Phnom Penh. Designed by the French archae
