Masterpiece Balinese Rama Sita Wood Carvings 14" Item #4b65

These beautiful Rama and Sita carvings are carved from crocodile wood. The details are sublime! You can immediately see how the artist has succeeded in creating exceptional detail, as evidenced in the delicate faces and very intricate crowns which adorn each piece. It took the artist 1 ½ months to carve these splendid masterpieces.

Lord Rama is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Rama represents an ideal man. In the story of the Ramayana, Rama's personality depicts him as the perfect son, devoted brother, true husband, trusted friend, ideal king, and a noble adversary. Rama is always ready to destroy evil and protect righteousness. He is himself an embodiment of dharma. Sita symbolizes an ideal daughter, wife, mother, and queen. Whereas Rama symbolizes standards of perfection that can be conceived in all the facets of a man's life, mother Sita represents all that is great and noble in womanhood, the perfect embodiment of purity in thoughts, words, and deeds. She is revered as an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the divine consort of Lord Vishnu.

Crocodile Wood or Satin Wood; Zanthoxylum rhetsa: The Indonesian name, panggal buaya, literally translates to crocodile teeth, referring to the knobby, tooth- shaped protrusions which cover the trunk. Native to lowlands from India to the Philippines, crocodile wood is usually white in color, some pieces have narrow, dark stripes. The heart is sometimes purple. The grain is straight and easy to carve and the wood is of medium hardness. Older trees produce darker wood than younger ones and the higher up in the tree, the lighter the color. Crocodile wood is often called the ivory of woods because of its similar color and smooth finish.

These masterpiece wood sculptures are entirely hand carved by the very talented artists of the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia. Every piece is truly unique!