Indian Stupa or Sacred Mound

Clear tiers and a ridged waist make this one look like a tiny stepped temple.

This crystal stupa, or sacred mound is from India, and is contemporary. The classic stupa shape includes a base, a dome and a tapering spire, and each part is often read as symbolizing an element or a stage of practice. Wide, rounded tiers narrow upward to a small knob. A band of ribbed ornament wraps the upper body and thin rings circle below. The foot is a set of angular stepped blocks, the whole piece transparent and bright. It is 1.1 inches wide, 1.1 deep and 1.25 high.

All that precise cutting, just to sit there and shine.