| Abstract: |
The altar was discovered in 1991 inside the ruins of the Champa temple at Van Trach Hoa hamlet, Phong Thu village, Phong Dien district (Thua Thien - Hue). It was made from greyish fine-grained stone with fairly high hardness. It has square structure with two parts fixed to each other by tenons. The size of the lower part is 1.18m x 1.18m x 0.35m
the upper part is 0.57m x 0.57m x 0.19m. All its vertical sides were carved. The upper part is a bas-relief
the lower part shows the combination of bas-relief and round statues, in which the latter ones are dominant. There are figures of gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra with priests or servants in standing or kneeling positions. In accordance with them are symbolic things in their hands and the relevant animals such as Ducks (Hamsa), divine bull (Nandin), elephants, lions, mythical birds (Garuda), mask of devil Kala . . . Based on the theme, decorative motifs, costume designs and sculptural styles, we suppose that Van Trach Hoa altar dated from the late 9th century to the early 10th century, in the end of Dong Duong style stage.
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