Lintel with the Hindu deity Vishnu riding Garuda

The Hindu and Buddhist temples of the Angkor kingdom, which encompassed Cambodia and parts of nearby countries such as Thailand, were richly ornamented. The temples’ bases and cornices were decorated with fancy moldings, the roofs were enlivened with carvings of the heroes and fantastic animals of myth, and pediments over
entrances often enclosed elaborate narrative scenes. One of the most frequently decorated parts of temples was the lintel over a doorway. As worshipers entered they passed beneath curling branches and fronds of stone foliage, often interspersed, as here, with representations of deities.

The broken figures in the middle of the lintel can be identified by comparison with unbroken sculptures. Vishnu is shown face-on, riding on his faithful mount, the powerful bird-man Garuda.