On March 9, 2019, I had the honor and the joy to take part as a jury member in the first "Concours d'artisanat et du savoir faire" (A&CE Awards)in Cambodia, a competition launched by La Semaine française de Siem Reap.
With my distinguished co-members of the jury, we were tasked to distinguish craftsmen and craftswomen particularly remarkable for their creativity, their mastery of technical skills and know-how, their ability at keeping afresh ancestral techniques and their virtuosity in reflecting the competition´s main theme, "Cambodia, universe of land and water".
-- Marina Pok, Anicca Foundation Director
Grand Prize
"Quand Shiva dansait à Angkor" / When Shiva was dancing at Angkor (pictured above)
Artisans: Leng Pohy, Thean Nga, Sat Sim, Patrick Kersalé, Philippe Brousseau
Size: 70 x 80 x 20 cm
Weight: 7 kg
Medium: hand-sculpted wood, buffalo horn, hides, bottle gourds; palm tree fiber and pleated nylon strings; double-layered acrylic lacquer, 24-carat gold leaf gilding.
(based on a 10-year long research around ancient Khmer music instruments and the musical arts in Angkor civilization by musicologist Patrick Kersalé)
Second Prize, I
"Le passage"/ គ្រាមួយ /"Crossing Over"
Artisans: Rithy Rin, Jean-Pascal Vittori
Size: 60 x 80 cm. Maximum thickness, 2 cm.
Weight: from 400g to 3kg
Medium & Technique: 9-color silkscreen printing on gloss paper. Limited edition, signed and numbered (250 copies)
(illustration of a famous scene from the Reamker, the Khmer Ramayana saga: Sovanna Maccha the mermaid falling in love with Lord Hanuman.)
Second Prize, II
"Bopha, la dame qui tresse des couronnes de fleurs"/"Bopha, the flower-weaving lady"
Artisans: (Ms.)Chun Sinat, Chea Pech, Khon Khan
Size: H 80cm, W 60cm, T 10cm. Etching 5 to 6 cm deep.
Weight: 205 kg
Medium & Technique: cut sandstone block; the talented trio has spent more than 400 hours on the sculpting and etching work.
(bas-relief depicting a Cambodian daily life scene, a florist lady weaving jasmine flowers wreath at the market.)
Recognition Award
to Jacques Danger
for transmitting know-how and craftmanship to Cambodian artisans
"La Décalée"/"The Quirky One"
Size: 16 x 6cm
Weight: 0.015kg
Medium & technique: natural horn-rimming (Cambodian buffalo horn); sizing and adjusting to customer's features, assembling bi-color faces; manual cutting and curving of the glasses frame, pad-polishing, line and emery cloth finish.
(a black-and-white hand-made eyepiece with arms in reversed set-up.)
Special Honor Award
To Eric Stocker
for his whole body of work, his mastery of natural, locally-sourced lacquer mediums, his committment in sharing knowledge and know-how.
Moments of the Awards event at The Raffles-Grand Hotel d'Angkor, Siem Reap
Do you wish to enter the 2020 edition of the A&CE Awards? Email us