sun

The Kolovrat wheel is an ancient Slavic sign intended to honor the sun and fire. Used as a divine symbol, it is now part of a bewitching necklace handcrafted by Balinese artisan Made Wardika. After carving the magical image on cow bone, the artisan adds a sterling silver hoop that joins the piece to a leather cord with an adjustable length.

Gracious and graceful, this mask represents a member of the royal family. Such pieces are typical of ancient Javanese dance drama. Gold embellishes her serene features and hand-beaten copper forms her crown. Designed by Nenny Lukhita, it is finished with lacquer and stands on an iron rod on a mahogany base.

Divine, magnificent and powerful, this regal dragon symbolizes the splendor of the ancient Balinese kingdom. Proud of his heritage, artisan Wayan Rendah reunites traditional elements in this suar wood relief panel, depicting a beautiful dragon surrounded by the moon's divine aura.

The piece is also equipped with an aluminum hook.

Yuni Kristina conjures classic Javanese batik patterns in mesmerizing shades of black, gray, and green. Stamped by hand on a luxurious silk shawl, they include the parang, or dagger, once exclusive to the courts of Surakarta and Jogyakarta. Formerly reserved for the sultan's use, flowers and the kawung,--an eight-pointed rosette set within a square, rhombus, or circle-- complement the parang.

Each motif is created by hand, as evidenced by the occasional pencil mark or slight color variations.

Wayan Kandiyasa's charming sculpture depicts Dewa Surya, a Hindu god who pulls the sun across the sky in his horse-drawn chariot. Balinese artisans bring the powerful deity to life by hand carving pale sandstone, engraving the sculpture with intricate, life-like details.

Each year around March, Balinese citizens start the day by walking around the gorgeous coasts of the region as part of a purification ritual called Melasti. Aimed to help people leave their bad experiences behind, the ceremony inspires today Anak Agung Ary to create this suar wood decorative box featuring a polyester velvet lining and a hand-painted scene of the Melasti in the morning, while the sun rises to illuminate the world one more day.

Balinese artisan Made Itihasa continues the sculpting traditions of his village, Buruan, creating this manually carved and polished wall clock from suar wood, requiring a single AA battery. The clock's sculpted design details the locally significant, immortal figure, Kala Rau, who drinks the water of immortality and disguises himself as a god, much to the annoyance of Lord Vishnu, who sends Kala Rau's head floating into the sky where he exists until the present. Whereas common motifs depict Kala Rau devouring the sun, moon or the goddess of the moon, instead Made Itihasa has chosen to put time in the jaws of the immortal figure, a unique interpretation of the story.