Mr. Achmad, another local bead-seller, had these interesting beads, apparently made from palm nuts, cut into pendants and beads, and then decorated by being dipped in paints—much like marblized papers were made 100 to 200 years ago for fancyt book-binding.

The bead are not expensive, costing about $3.00 per necklace. I have seen these here in the US being sold as "hand-painted wood" (which is what I was told when I first bought them in Portland, OR a few years ago). I cannot swear these are Indonesian beads—and if someone asserted that they are actually from India, I'd have to say I would not be surprised. However, they might be local....

JDA.