Angkor became famous in the late 19th/early 20th century when its monuments were shown at the Universal Exposition in Paris. This new exhibition at the Musée Guimet show why there was such a sensation, with 250 Khmer masterpieces on show…

The great French explorer Louis Delaporte (1842-1925) was the first person to want Kmer art from ancient Cambodia to be see in museums.

Displayed at Troacadero in Paris until 1925, the stone sculptures he brought back have all been completely restored (some of them date back to the 10th century), and are being shown with plaster casts, paintings, photos…Other objects come from French museums such as the musée Rodin and the Pompidou Centre, with certain sculptures generously lent by the National Museum of Cambodia and the Angkor National Museum.A catalogue has been published for the exhibition (312 pages, 300 illustrations 49€ here at amazon.fr), and two conferences are being organised to help complete your knowledge of this fascinating city.

You can check out some interesting photos of the exhibition being set up here.

The exhibition Angkor: Birth of a myth is at the Musée Guimet (here) until 13th January 2014

Open every day esxcept Tuesday from 10am – 6pm. Last ticket at 5.15pm (4.45 on 24th and 31st December). Closed Xmas day and 1st January.

Admission: 7.50€ / 5.50€ (if you want to see the excellent permanent collection too, it’ll be 9.50€ / 7€)

Official site: www.guimet.fr

Facebook: here

Twitter: twitter.com/MuseeGuimet