New Four Activities Dzi, 27.3×11.5mm, cool grey-brown agate, antique-style crackle finish (N-FA-071126-4ACT2)

We never retouch our photos. What you see is exactly what you will receive.

This bead is new, not antique. It was made in Taiwan within roughly the last 20 years using the traditional dzi crafting technique, then given a deliberate crackle finish for an aged look.

It shares the Four Activities motif and crackle finish of its companion, N-FA-071126-4ACT, but the two are not identical.

Here the ground is cooler and more even: where its companion has a warm beige-grey in the lighter areas, this bead reads a flatter, cooler grey. The contrast is lower too, and on some faces the dark areas flow into each other rather than sitting as separate shapes — most clearly in Image 2. Image 3 resolves into two large dark zones within lighter grey. Images 1 and 4 show the characteristic Four Activities lattice, with the crackle network spread widely across both light and dark areas.

The end caps (Images 5 and 6) have a more pronounced rough, granular, matte texture than its companion, emphasised by the crackle finish. Both drill holes are small and centred.

At 27.3mm × 11.5mm it is essentially the same size as its companion (27.8mm × 11.4mm), so the two sit well together on a strand.

The Four Activities Motif

The Four Activities (四業) are the four enlightened actions of Buddhism: pacifying, enriching, magnetising and subjugating — calming harm, increasing good fortune, drawing in positive conditions and overcoming obstacles. A Four Activities dzi is worn as an all-round bead, with all four energies present at once.

Specifications

• Motif: Four Activities (四業); overlapping wave and lattice elements
• Length: 27.3mm
• Diameter: 11.5mm
• Form: Compact barrel
• Material: Agate, cool grey-brown with a crackle finish
• Age: New, made in Taiwan within roughly the last 20 years using the traditional dzi crafting technique, with an antique-style crackle finish
• Condition: Good; crackle finish is deliberate; rougher end caps than its companion; no cracks or chips
• Bloodspots: None
• Product ID: N-FA-071126-4ACT2
• Collection: Antique-Style Dzi | Taiwan Dzi

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• New Four Activities Dzi, Antique-Style (N-FA-071126-4ACT)
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• Antique Prajna Dharma Eye Chalcedony Dzi with Bloodspots (At-061926-PDEBS)

Further Reading

• Dzi Bead Motifs and Their Meanings
• How to Choose a Dzi Bead: Buying Guide

Six unretouched photographs: four faces of the motif (1–4) and both crackle-finished end caps (5 and 6).