Double Longevity Motif Dzi Bead with Bloodspots, 34.9×12.6mm, Cream-White Agate (V-092824-DLBS)

Every piece hand-inspected and accurately described. All photos below are unretouched, taken against a plain white background to show this bead's true colour and condition.

On this bead the dark zones don't form the ground. They are shapes held within a cream-white field that covers most of every face.

This is a vintage Taiwan dzi, crafted in the 1980s from high-quality natural agate using the traditional dzi crafting technique. The colour relationship is the inverse of most dzi: cream-white is the dominant field, and the pitch-black zones float within it as enclosed, irregular shapes. Across all four faces in flat-lit photography the cream coverage is broad and consistent; the dark reads as figure, not ground. Both drilled tips show a warm brown tone, the agate's natural colour. The Double Longevity motif reads differently on every face: one orientation shows a more symmetrical dark arrangement; turn the bead and the black shapes shift, lengthen, and redistribute.

The surface is smooth and well polished, with the high gloss of quality 1980s Taiwan work. Along the central band where the two longevity compositions meet, minor surface marks are visible, small irregularities at the etching boundary, disclosed here as found. No cracks are visible in any photo. The drill channel is clean at both ends.

Bloodspots

The macro photographs show natural cinnabar (硃砂, zhūshā) inclusions clearly throughout this bead: fine orange-rust micro-dots across the cream-white zones, slightly denser where the central motif lines meet. Learn more in our guide to bloodspots in dzi beads.

The Double Longevity Motif

The Longevity or Tortoise Shell motif is one of the most recognised patterns in the dzi tradition, associated with health, long life, and lasting vitality. The tortoise has long symbolised longevity and stability in Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist culture. The double composition means both main faces carry the full motif, and here the cream-dominant colouring gives the pattern an unusual brightness and openness. Read more in Dzi Motifs and Their Interpretations.

Specifications

• Motif: Double Longevity (Tortoise Shell)
• Length: 34.9mm
• Diameter: 12.6mm
• Form: Barrel
• Material: Natural agate
• Age estimate: Vintage, crafted in Taiwan in the 1980s using the traditional technique
• Condition: Good; minor surface marks along the central band; no cracks visible
• Bloodspots: Prominent; natural cinnabar micro-dots throughout the cream field
• Product ID: V-092824-DLBS
• Collections: Taiwan Dzi | New & Vintage Dzi | Bloodspot Dzi

Its companion piece: the Vintage Double Longevity Dzi with Bloodspots, the same motif and era with the opposite colouring, a dark-dominant ground with cream cells.

From the blog

• Taiwan Dzi Beads: The Vintage 1980s Guide
• Bloodspots in Dzi Beads

A vintage Double Longevity with a cream-white dominant field, pitch-black floating shapes, and natural cinnabar throughout.

All photos are unretouched. White-background shots show true colour; macro shots show the bloodspots at close range.