Featured Interesting Pendant...from where?

This is a very pretty and interesting piece. I must say I was hoping it to be silver, but testing does not come even close. It is a 'puffy' piece. Lots of detail and 'mixed' metals. The background is silver tone; at 12, 4 and 8 o'clock the metal is coppery, and at 2, 6 and 10 o'clock it is brassy. It looks like the design layer is laid on top of a lower layer (not sure how to phrase that properly). I'm wondering if the 'symbols' are actual characters or simple fantasy? It measures 1 3/8" across. It was grungy filthy when I bought it. I polished one side (the first pic) and left the other side alone except for a light cleaning. The stones on the unpolished side are intact and look original. On the polished side one is missing and at least one badly replaced. What do you all think? Is this piece anything special? I like it regardless of findings and will finish polishing it up and probably keep it to wear myself. Thanks!

 

It is from Nepal. The characters are mantras written in Sanskrit. The one in the centre of the second photo is Aum (Ohm), the sound of creation and the most important mantra.

it is pretty, but it has millions of siblings.

No, it wouldn't. It is silvertone base metal, copper and brass.

 

Thank you AJ! You confirmed what I figured and at least I know where it is from now. I will finish polishing it and take care of the stones.

 

You're welcome, Wenna. The stones are probably glass, so a wipe with a damp cloth will be ok. Don't soak it, the adhesive may not like that.

 

You are a treasure AJ. I was stroking myself that I knew it was Sanskrit LOL and that was my limit!

 

It's not from Nepal rather from India. Om or Aum is a sacred sound and a spiritual symbol in Indian religions. The sound/symbol OM originated with the Vedas which means knowledge, both spiritual and material, infused with the Vedic knowledge. So the pendant design might be imitated (even if the source of purchase is in Nepal, just in case) but that doesn't change the cultures originality as there's always a clear distinction of the script used in tibetan buddhist and the one used in Indian sanskrit.

#1. Indian sanskrit OM

#2. Nepali/tibetan OM

 

Sorry Andy, these pendants are made in Nepal. The style is very Nepali. You are confusing Nepal with Tibet and you assume the Nepali Hindus use Tibetan Vajrayana Sanskrit script. They don't. Tibet and Nepal are two very different countries with different cultures.

The main religions in Nepal are Hinduism and Buddhism, both considered Indian religions, even though Siddharta Gautama (Buddha) was born in Nepal.
There are also people whose faith is a mix of Hinduism and Buddhism. Not all that strange, Buddhism was originally a school within Hinduism. It is/was the same in parts of Southeast Asia.
The Nepalese Hindus don't use the Tibetan Aum/Om symbol, simply because they are not traditionally familiar with it. Traditionally they only know the Hindu Sanskrit one. They are from Nepal and they are Hindu, not from Tibet and Vajrayana Buddhist.
There are Vajrayana Buddhists in Nepal, but they make different jewellery from the Hindus.

 

Some Nepalese manufacturers cater to both script forms, for everyone's taste, they aren't fussy:


https://www.crystalzgemz.nl/en_GB/a...-36-mm-turquoise-coral-and-brass/#description