Sapphire Carving, Buddha (with ''star'' effect!)

Item Description

A beautiful and detailed carving of Buddha laughing / smiling, carved from a solid piece of Sri Lankan Sapphire. The carving is very good sized and you can tell that it was carved with skill as the little details stand out beautifully even from a distance. The color ranges from a smoky blue to a silvery-black hue, and the colors mix and swirl throughout the piece. For the most part, the piece is opaque, but with some good backlighting, there is a fair amount of translucency around the edges. My FAVORITE aspect of this carving is that right on Buddha's belly, you can see a distinct six-ray star appear! This phenomenon - known as "asterism" - occurs when Sapphires are typically polished into cabochons and oriented in a manner that reflects tiny silk-like inclusions that are trapped inside the Sapphire. The inclusions bend light entering the Sapphire and create the star-like pattern when viewed in reflected light. It was VERY difficult to illustrate the star in photos, and it looks BETTER IN PERSON!  I don't ever remember seeing another Sapphire carving with a "star" so prominently featured like this! A really special, unique and certainly desirable / collectible carving that would make a great addition to any gem / lapidary collection or a suite of mineral art. The pieces weighs 169.05 carats.