At the beginning of the Christian era, Indochina and parts of Thailand were already inhabited by the Khmer, a people of essentially Chinese and Tibetan origin. By the fifth century, a series of immigrations from India had introduced both Buddhism and Hinduism into the region and the two faiths co-existed, alternating in their patronage by the Khmer kings, each introducing and fostering the building of grand temples and sculptures.

Khmer art was truly indigenous in conception, style, technique, and ceremonial function. Its overriding purpose was to integrate the identity of the king with his deity. Khmer kings claimed to be god-kings, the incarnation of either a Buddhist or Hindu deity. Rulers alternated between Buddhism and Hinduism, sometimes from one reign to the next, but, as they put both to the same political use, a single artistic style developed. Khmer sculpture has a distinct appearance with double-lined lips, a broad squared jaw, a continuous eyebrow, mitered hairdo, and a sensual body - all characteristics typical of Khmer images.

Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire and the site of the largest religious monuments ever built. The Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple built in the early 9th century to celebrate the king as an incarnation of Vishnu, symbolizes the Hindu cosmos. Images of Uma, Shiva's wife held special significance for the Khmer; she appears more often in Khmer art than in Indian. Uma, signifying maternity and motherhood, is presented as a curvaceous and beautiful woman. This piece is done in the Angkor style, a style influenced by the building of Angkor's great temples.

A nearby temple, Angkor Thom, contains the Bayon, a Buddhist temple embellished with huge stone heads of the king. This monumental Head of a Guardian Figure represents the Angkor Thom style which is distinctive for its scale, its hardness of line, and the stylized, enigmatic smiles of its deities.

The Khmer kings dominated the regions of modern Cambodia and parts of Thailand until the mid-13th century when rebellions, invasions and epidemics weakened the kingdom. The introduction of Theravada Buddhism may also have threatened Khmer imperialism and rigid social order. When the last Khmer administrators left their great city of Angkor in 1432, the empire was finished. Nearly 500 years later, during the latter half of the 19th century, the world was amazed when French archeologists tore away smothering jungle foliage to reveal the glory of Angkor Wat, the great forgotten city of the Khmer.