Indonesian Belt Buckle with Skull Motif

A dark skull with rust-colored veining stares out from a frame of curling silver leaves.

This belt buckle with skull motif comes from Bali, Indonesia, and is contemporary work in sterling silver and mammoth tusk. Mammoth tusk recovered from permafrost often takes on deep browns, blues and rust tones from the minerals around it, which is why carvers prize its color. Here the skull is carved in a dark, mottled tusk with rust markings, set, with a tiny gold accent among the teeth. Around it, acanthus scrolls are chased in high relief against a blackened, stippled ground. It is 3.25 inches long, 0.5 deep and 2.25 high.

A grin that does not quit, held up by some very fine leaves.