Handcarved Buddhist Jataka Animal Sterling Silver Beads

A bead that carries an entire cosmology on its surface. Carved by hand in Nepal from sterling silver, each of these Jataka animal beads distils centuries of Buddhist narrative into a form you can hold between two fingers. The Jataka tales, the ancient compendium of the Buddha's past lives, are populated by creatures of moral weight: elephants, deer, peacocks, monkeys, each embodying a particular virtue or lesson. Here, one such creature is rendered in superfine repoussé and chasing on a single bead measuring twenty-five millimetres by twenty-two millimetres, its surface alive with the fine detailing that only a practised hand and a hafted tool can produce. At ten grams, the sterling silver has genuine presence without heaviness. The oxidised recesses deepen the carved relief, giving each line its full drama against a burnished ground. Thread it onto a long silk cord for a meditative everyday look, or incorporate it as a focal pendant on a layered silver chain against a handwoven cotton kurta. For a more considered occasion, pair it alone on a fine chain with a Bengali tant sari, letting the antiqued silver speak quietly against the weave. Sold per piece, so you may choose one creature or collect several for a narrative strand. Free size, as befits a bead designed to be strung to your own proportion. Sterling silver requires only occasional polishing with a soft cloth to maintain its warm, antiqued character.

Details

• Material: Sterling Silver
• Dimensions: 25 mm x 22 mm Size
• Weight: 10.0 g
• SKU: JUJ41