The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

LAMHUUIA: IHh KHMtKS 397
on all four sides of the massive base. The
repetition of multiple horizontal mouldings
around each terrace is a device adding to the
sense of height that reappears in many later
buildings. Probably the superstructure of the
sanctuary was originally of wood. What is of
chief import for us is the presence here of
concentric galleries connecting the tower pavilions
at the corners and over the entrances of
the quadrangle on the top storey. This is the
beginning of the employment of an element
of northern architecture which was to be one of
the most distinctive aspects in the final development
of Khmer architecture. Probably here, as
in many later and more grandiose temples, the
galleries were intended either for the accommodation
of pilgrims or for the storage and
distribution of grain as alms. The openings in
this peristyle at Phimeanakas were originally
filled with slender stone balusters, such as were
universally employed in later Khmer buildings.
In Khmer architecture from its earliest
beginnings we find a struggle between the
horizontal and vertical elements of the structure.
This was conditioned by the primitive character
of the vaulting available to the builders, and by
the demand for large sanctuaries with many
chapels. Since it was impossible with corbelled
vaulting to cover anything but the narrowest
spaces, edifices covering a large area under one
roof could not be built. The result was the
development of a plan with many small
individual units joined by narrow corridors or
galleries. Opposed to this tendency towards
horizontal distribution was the desire for
vertically which arose from the need for buildings
symbolizing the world mountain. The
struggle was finally resolved by placing the
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