In 1934, the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) conducted excavations at the Thap Mam ruins (Nhon Thanh, An Nhon), recovering a large number of sculptures; among them were four statues depicting the divine bird Garuda slaying a serpent, arranged in symmetrical pairs. In 2011, the National Museum of History of Vietnam and the Binh Dinh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism carried out a second excavation at the site, uncovering a significant number of artifacts. These included two additional statues of Garuda slaying a serpent—also in a symmetrical pair—featuring decorative motifs and themes closely resembling the four statues found in 1934. Currently, the two Garuda statues discovered during the 2011 excavation are on display at the Gia Lai Provincial Museum.
The first divine bird statue stands upright with its head tilted to the left and its torso facing forward; its wings are spread to the sides. The left hand holds the body of a serpent across the chest, while the right hand holds a smaller serpent raised to head level. The legs are slightly bent, with the left foot trampling a serpent.
Regarding decorative motifs, the two Garuda statues are depicted in a relatively similar manner. The Garuda’s head wears a three-tiered *Kirita Mukuta* crown, adorned with garlands and strings of beads that extend to the back of the neck. The eyes are large and round, with eyelids framed by two layers of stylized lotus petals and striped patterns; a vertical line featuring a band of layered lotus petals runs from the forehead to the beak, positioned between the eyes. The beak is long, sharp, and curved downward, gripping a serpent's body and revealing the teeth; the edges of the beak are decorated with small leaf patterns. The figure features long ears with large, drooping lobes adorned with eight-petaled flower ornaments. It has a short neck, wears a necklace of round beads, and displays a lotus-petal band below; the torso is muscular, and the hands firmly grasp a serpent, while the upper arms and wrists are encircled by beaded bracelets. The divine bird Garuda wears a short *sampot* (lower-body garment) secured by a beaded belt, with a decorative band of alternating lotus petals and bead strings below. The legs appear short, with raised circular ornaments decorating the knees; the feet are avian in form, featuring talons that trample the serpent's body, causing the snake's heads to rear up to the level of the divine bird's knees (though only two snake heads are depicted, reflecting the statue's three-faced design). A mounting peg is located on the back of each relief for attachment to an architectural element.
The pair of "Garuda slaying the serpent" statues from Thap Mam represents a unique and distinctive sculptural masterpiece; it inherits the traditions of Champa sculpture and marks a pinnacle of the Thap Mam artistic period. This depiction of Garuda slaying the serpent stands as a unique sculptural work, significant not only within Champa art but also within the broader context of ancient Southeast Asian sculpture.
