Six Eye Motif Dzi Bead with Bloodspots, 37.8×13.7mm, Pitch-Black Agate (V-102723-6EBS)

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 six eyes on this bead sit against a pitch-black ground, and under magnification the cream zones that frame each one are not empty at all.

This is a vintage Taiwan dzi, crafted in the 1980s from natural agate using the traditional dzi crafting technique. The ground is pitch-black across all four faces in flat-lit white-background photography, a consistent deep black through the body, though both drilled ends show a warm brown tone at the tip. The six eyes are laid out three per face, with wave-form connecting lines running across the other faces between the eyes, so the composition changes depending on which face you look at.

The surface is smooth and well polished, with the high gloss typical of quality 1980s Taiwan work across both the dark ground and the cream motif. No cracks or chips are visible in any of the photos. The drill channel is clean at both ends.

Bloodspots

The macro photographs show natural cinnabar (硃砂, zhūshā) inclusions clearly throughout this bead. They appear as orange to rust-red micro-dots scattered across the cream motif zones: within the cream eye rings, along the wave connecting lines, and at the boundaries where cream meets the pitch-black ground. They are consistent in colour and size, broadly dispersed rather than clustered. Learn more in our guide to bloodspots in dzi beads.

The Six Eye Motif

The Six Eye motif is one of the most spiritually significant dzi designs in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, associated with release from suffering and the cycles of samsara, the improvement of bodily and spiritual wellbeing, and protection against misfortune. Its six eyes are linked with the Six Realms of existence in Buddhist cosmology. Read more in The Six Eye Dzi Bead: Symbolism and Significance.

Specifications

• Motif: Six Eye
• Length: 37.8mm
• Diameter: 13.7mm
• Form: Barrel
• Material: Natural agate
• Age estimate: Vintage, crafted in Taiwan in the 1980s using the traditional technique
• Condition: Excellent; no cracks or chips visible
• Bloodspots: Prominent; natural cinnabar micro-dots throughout the cream eye rings and connecting lines
• Product ID: V-102723-6EBS
• Collections: Taiwan Dzi | New & Vintage Dzi | Bloodspot Dzi

Its companion piece: the Vintage Six Eye and Tiger Tooth Dzi with Extreme Bloodspots, 49.1×12.3mm, longer and slimmer, with its own bloodspot character.

From the blog

• Taiwan Dzi Beads: The Vintage 1980s Guide
• The Six Eye Dzi Bead: Symbolism and Significance

A pitch-black vintage Six Eye with natural cinnabar running through every cream zone on the bead.

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