National Museum

The National Archeological Museum of the KOC is housed in a graceful terracotta structure of traditional design, built in 1917-1920, just north of the Royal Palace. The School of Fine Arts has its headquarters in a structure between the main building. The museum comprises 4 courtyards, which face a garden with 4 fishing ponds and in the middle is the large statue of Lokta Kumluong (Leprosy God) with his face to the east. The most significant displays of sculpture are the courtyards to the left and straight ahead of the entrance. Some unimaginable highlights include 1) the 8-armed statue of Vishnu from the 6th or 7th century; 2) the statue of famous King Jaya Varman VII seated from 12th century, his head bowed slightly in a meditative pose; 3) elsewhere around the museum are displays of pottery and bronzes dating from the pre-Angkor periods of Funan and Chenla from 4th to 9th centuries, 4) the classical Angkor periods from 9th to 14th centuries, as well as more recent works. Generally, it contains a perfectly fantastic collection of the Angkorean, pre and post-Angkorean artifacts with full of invaluable ancient statues and statuettes. Restoration work to the buildings and cataloguing of exhibits is currently being carried out. At the front door, many Khmer handicrafts are showed for sales with cheap prices for souvenir of the trip to Cambodia. French and English speaking guides are available anytime, and there is also a useful exhibition booklet, Khmer Art in Stone, available at the front desk. The museum is open from 8:00-11:30 am and 2:00-5:30 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Entrance fee is $2 for foreign tourists. Photography is prohibited inside; however, you may bring a camera and video with you with a charge of $5, but photography is only permitted in the courtyards.