Ornament with black stone

Title
Ornament with black stone
Year/Period
8th- 11th century
Region
Java, Indonesia
Material
Dimension
Object size: L2.0 x W1.2 cm
Accession No.
1997-03679
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Ng

This ornament features a black stone on its band and a decorated vertical motif in solid gold. Due to its miniscule size, it has been suggested that it could have been worn on the legs of pet birds, although it is more likely that it was worn on the ear. Both men and women wore ear ornaments and they had their earlobes pierced. Generally speaking, ear ornaments were more diverse than the rings in terms of design, and Javanese statues belonging to this time period depict many styles of ear ornaments. Besides personal adornment, gold was also used to make religious items during this period.