Angkor Wat and the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery

At the magnificent temple of Angkor Wat, WMF is restoring the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery.

Built by the powerful King Suryavaram II in the early 12th century, it is the largest religious building in the world. Its five towers, placed atop a huge artificial stone mountain, are a symbolic representation of Mount Meru, the sacred mountain of Hindu mythology.

The Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery houses the celebrated 49-meter-long bas-relief that depicts one of the most important themes of Hindu mythology: the creation myth in which devas (gods) and asuras (demons) churn the primordial ocean to release amrita, the elixir of immortality.

The gallery, which forms the south half of Angkor Wat’s prominent east façade, was improperly restored in the 1980s: the roof leaks with each rainfall, carrying damaging salts through the stones and over the precious bas-reliefs.

Without treatment, the deterioration will increase at an alarming rate, risking the eventual loss of what most historians regard as the most ambitious and finely produced stone sculptures in Khmer art.

Help WMF save the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery.