Indonesian Necklace with Buddha Pendant and Ostrich Pouch

A tiny red Buddha sits in a gold lotus niche cut into a craggy black stone.

This necklace with a Buddha pendant and ostrich pouch comes from Bali, Indonesia, and is contemporary, in red coral, 22 karat gold, tiger eye and moldavite. Balinese goldsmiths are well known for fine granulation and filigree, much of it inspired by older temple ornament. The seated Buddha is carved in deep red coral and set in a gold frame, with gold leaves wrapping the black, pitted stone around it. A gold bale rises to a cluster of gold beads on a fine braided gray-green cord, spaced with small gold rondelles. The pendant is 0.75 inches long, 0.5 deep and 1.25 high.

Calm at the center, rough at the edges, which is not a bad arrangement.