Carved Bone and Blue Topaz Silver Pendant Necklace, "Dayang Sumbi"

With an expression of dreamy repose, a serene beauty sleeps undisturbed. Indonesian artisan Komang Suastra presents this stunning pendant necklace, featuring a cameo carved from cow bone. The face is crowned with sterling silver and bedecked with 2.5 carats of sparkling blue topaz. Suastra names the necklace after the beautiful woman in a Javanese legend.

The story tells of Dayang Sumbi, a beautiful woman in West Java. She banished her son Sankuriang for disobeying her, in turn receiving the gift of eternal youth from the gods. After many years in exile, Sangkuriang returned home, long after the two had forgotten each other. Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi and decided to marry her, but she recognized him at the last minute. In order to prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to complete two impossible tasks before sunrise--building a dam on the river Citarum, and a large boat to cross the river. However, Sangkuriang enlisted mythical creatures to aid him in his tasks, so he was nearly finished as daybreak approached. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed, so she summoned her workers to spread red silk cloths east of the city, to appear as if it was dawn breaking. Sangkuriang was fooled, and kicked the dam and the unfinished boat in frustration, resulting in terrible flooding and the creation of the volcano Tangkuban Perahu.

.925 Sterling silver