Miao Necklace Ensemble, Based

Three crescents, stacked. Understatement was not on the agenda.

This Miao necklace ensemble, on its base, is silver. The Miao, a people of southern China, are well known for the lavish silver worn at festivals and marked occasions, often with an eye to display and family wealth. Three graduated collars nest one inside another, each stamped with a ring of raised triangles. Their ends taper to wire-wrapped necks closing with small hooks at the top. The surface is dark and mottled, with bright patches at the shoulders. A slim black stand holds it upright. Nineteen and a half inches high and 15.5 long.

Hard to imagine anyone asking whether this was too much. Harder to imagine them being heard.