To order a custom Buddha statue from Bali you follow six steps: send a detailed brief (pose, size, material, budget), receive a quote and timeline, approve a deposit, review carving progress through photos, approve the finished piece, then pay the balance and arrange crating and worldwide shipping. From first message to delivered statue, a bespoke commission typically takes six to twelve weeks depending on size and complexity. Done properly, it costs only a little more than buying an off-the-shelf piece — and you get exactly the statue you imagined, carved by hand from genuine Balinese stone.
Our workshop desk wrote this guide, and it approves what leaves the yard. We personally approve every commission that leaves our workshop. This guide walks you through the entire process the way we explain it to clients, so that by the time you send us a brief on the contact page you already know what to expect. If you want to see the finished quality of our bespoke work first, our custom Buddha statue page shows commissions we have completed.
Why commission a custom statue at all?
There are three reasons people choose a bespoke Buddha over a ready-made one.
Size. Standard statues come in standard heights. If you have a specific niche, a particular garden focal point, a hotel lobby with a defined ceiling, or a spa platform of an exact width, an off-the-shelf statue rarely fits perfectly. A commission lets you specify the height to the centimetre. This is the most common reason clients come to us for a custom size Bali stone Buddha statue.
Pose, mudra and detail. Perhaps you want an earth-touching Buddha in black lava at 1.4 metres, or a reclining Buddha long enough to span a specific pool ledge, or a family of three matching heads. Ready stock will not have it. A commission does.
Meaning and provenance. A commissioned piece is made for you, from a stone you chose, carved by a named artisan whose lineage you can verify. For many buyers — especially those furnishing a home meditation space or a wellness business — that story is worth as much as the object.
Step 1 — Write a clear brief
The quality of your final statue starts with the quality of your brief. The more precise you are, the more accurate your quote and the fewer surprises later. A strong brief includes:
- Pose and mudra — meditating, earth-touching, teaching, standing protection, reclining, or a head. If you are unsure what each means, read our guide to Buddha poses and mudras first.
- Material — paras Kerobokan limestone-tuff (softer grey, fine detail, classic Balinese look) or black volcanic lava from Karangasem (denser, darker, very weather-hardy). We will advise if your choice suits your climate.
- Height — the finished height you need, and whether that includes or excludes the plinth.
- Placement — indoor, covered outdoor, or fully exposed to sun and rain. This changes the stone and finish we recommend.
- Finish — natural raw stone, aged/mossy antique effect, or smooth polished.
- Budget range — an honest range lets me propose the right stone and size rather than guessing.
- Deadline — when you need it delivered, so we can confirm the timeline is realistic.
- Reference images — photos or sketches of statues you like are enormously helpful.
You can send all of this in one message through our contact and quote form or directly on WhatsApp. Do not worry about getting every detail perfect — part of my job is to refine the brief with you.
Step 2 — Receive your quote and timeline
Once I have your brief, I confirm feasibility and send a written quote. A proper quote itemises: the stone type and size, the carving labour, the finish, the plinth if any, and a separate line for crating and shipping to your country. Beware any supplier who bundles everything into one vague number — hidden shipping costs are the most common complaint I hear from buyers who were burned before finding us.
The quote also states a realistic carving timeline. As a rough guide: a small head or a sub-metre seated Buddha takes about three to five weeks of carving; a one-to-1.5-metre statue takes six to eight weeks; large or reclining pieces over 1.5 metres can take ten to twelve weeks. Ocean freight is then added on top (see our shipping timelines guide for region-by-region estimates).
Step 3 — Approve the deposit
For bespoke work we ask for a deposit — typically around half — before carving begins, with the balance due once you approve the finished statue and before it ships. This is standard practice for made-to-order craft worldwide: it commits both sides and covers the cost of the stone block and reserved carver time. A transparent supplier will always hold your balance until you have seen and approved photos of the completed piece.
Step 4 — Watch it being carved
This is the part clients love most. Because your statue is genuinely being carved by hand, we send progress photos at key stages: the roughed-out block, the defined form, and the detailed near-finished carving. If something needs adjusting — the tilt of the head, the depth of a robe fold — this is when we catch it, while the stone can still be worked. You are effectively collaborating with the carver in real time. For a balinese Buddha statue custom order, this feedback loop is exactly what separates a commission from a gamble.
Step 5 — Approve the finished statue
When carving and finishing are complete, we photograph the statue from every angle in good daylight and send it for your final approval. Only when you are happy do we proceed. If you have any concern, we address it before packing. This approval gate is your protection — you are never shipping-and-hoping.
Step 6 — Crating, payment and worldwide shipping
Once approved, you settle the balance and we build a custom timber crate around the statue, with internal bracing and foam so the piece cannot shift in transit. Stone is heavy and unforgiving, so professional crating is non-negotiable — we cover exactly how we do it in our guide to packing and crating a stone statue for export. We then arrange export documentation and freight to your nearest port or, for smaller pieces, door-to-door courier. Everything about our export process is explained on the shipping and export page.
What a custom commission typically costs
Because every commission is different, there is no single price — but as a benchmark, a bespoke piece usually costs only modestly more than an equivalent ready-made statue of the same size and stone, because the raw carving labour is similar; you are paying mainly for the reserved time and the made-to-order specification. For a full breakdown of stone statue pricing by size and material, see our Bali Buddha statue cost guide. The genuine extra costs to plan for are always the same two: crating and international freight.
A word on trust
The Indonesian government actively promotes Balinese handicraft exports through official trade channels, and Bali’s stone-carving villages — Batubulan chief among them — are recognised craft centres (documented by Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade export-promotion resources). But a recognised craft origin does not guarantee an honest supplier. Commission only from a workshop that names its carver, shows its process, holds your balance until approval, and quotes shipping separately and in writing. We built our authenticity and buyer-guarantee page precisely so you can verify these things about us.
Start your commission
If you can describe the statue you want, we can carve it. Explore our finished bespoke work on the custom Buddha statue page, read our full story on the Suryana Buddha Atelier homepage, and when you are ready, send your brief.
Message Wayan and the atelier directly on WhatsApp at wa.me/6281139414563, or submit your commission brief through our contact page. Tell me the pose, stone, size and destination — I will send you a clear, itemised quote and a realistic timeline within a couple of days.