Heaven & Earth Motif Dzi Bead with Bloodspots, 36.7×10.6mm, Dark Brown Agate (V-082123-HEBS)

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.

The circle on this bead is not decorative, and under magnification the cream zone that frames it is scattered with individual orange-red dots that read almost as a second pattern.

This is a vintage Taiwan dzi, crafted in the 1980s from high-quality natural agate using the traditional dzi crafting technique. The ground is two-zone: warm chestnut reddish-brown at the drilled tips, clearly visible in the angled end shots, deepening to a rich dark brown through the body. The Heaven and Earth motif is boldly drawn, with a large oval cream ring on the main face and the stepped square Earth composition on the reverse. On the circle face, the broad cream ring frames a deep dark oval centre, giving the bead a focal, almost eye-like presence; on the square face, the stepped cream lines spread across the full width in a more geometric arrangement. The two faces look substantially different.

The cream zones carry a warm ivory tone softened by over four decades of age. Surface marks are visible along the middle of the bead, consistent with vintage wear, disclosed here as found. No cracks are visible in any of the white-background photos. The drill channel is clean at both ends.

Bloodspots

Three macro photographs show natural cinnabar (硃砂, zhūshā) inclusions in remarkable clarity across the cream zones. They appear as vivid individual pinpoint dots, orange-red to vermilion, among the most saturated in our vintage beads, scattered broadly across the Heaven circle, the cream bars, and the boundaries between cream and dark ground. Some read bright orange-red, others deeper crimson, evenly scattered without any one dense cluster. Learn more in our guide to bloodspots in dzi beads.

The Heaven and Earth Motif

The Heaven and Earth motif pairs the circle (Heaven, 天) with the square (Earth, 地) to express the unity of complementary opposites, the balance of the celestial and the earthly. It is traditionally associated with harmony, the removal of obstacles, and the flow of wealth and good fortune, and has long been a favourite in business, where the balance of heaven and earth is understood as what allows prosperity to take hold. Read more in Dzi Motifs and Their Interpretations.

Specifications

• Motif: Heaven and Earth
• Length: 36.7mm
• Diameter: 10.6mm
• Form: Barrel
• Material: Natural agate
• Age estimate: Vintage, crafted in Taiwan in the 1980s using the traditional technique
• Condition: Good; surface marks around the middle consistent with vintage age; no cracks visible
• Bloodspots: Prominent; vivid orange-red to vermilion natural cinnabar pinpoints scattered throughout the cream zones
• Product ID: V-082123-HEBS
• Collections: Taiwan Dzi | New & Vintage Dzi | Bloodspot Dzi

Companion vintage bloodspot dzi

• Vintage Six Eye Dzi with Bloodspots, pitch-black
• Vintage Eight Eye Dzi with Bloodspots
• Vintage Garuda Dzi with Bloodspots
• Vintage Double Longevity Dzi with Bloodspots
• Vintage Double Longevity Dzi with Bloodspots (II)
• Vintage Double Longevity Dzi with Bloodspots (III)

From the blog

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

A vintage Heaven and Earth dzi with a warm two-zone dark brown ground, boldly drawn cream composition, and some of the most vividly coloured bloodspots among our vintage beads.

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