{"product_id":"ancient-seven-stripe-chung-dzi-agate-near-pitch-black-ac-081020-7schung","title":"Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, 49.4 × 11.9mm, near-pitch-black ground, 1,000–1,500 years (Ac-081020-7SChung)","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eWe never retouch our photos. What you see is exactly what you will receive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eSeven stripes on a ground this dark take a thousand years to read the way they do in these photographs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe seven etched stripe bands on this Chung dzi are not cream-white. They are golden-tan to warm sandy-brown — the characteristic tone that acid-etched bands develop on agate of this age when the etching medium has mineralised over centuries into a colour that reads as warm and organic rather than stark. Against the near-pitch-black ground they create a contrast that is muted, authoritative, and unlike anything produced by newer etching: the bands do not shout but they do not disappear, and at the age of 1,000–1,500 years the relationship between stripe and ground has reached a visual equilibrium that takes a very long time to arrive at.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe bead carries seven stripe bands distributed across its full circumference — approximately three to four registers visible from any single viewing angle, with the remaining bands wrapping to the reverse. The composition is confirmed across three face views: Face A (Image 2) shows the warmest reading of the dark ground, with a warm dark brown character between the golden-tan stripes; Face B (Image 3) reads cooler — a grey-black ground tone where the agate's mineral composition shifts; Face C (Image 4) is the most legible face, with the widest stripe registers and the clearest golden-tan to warm-brown band colour. This tonal variation between faces is natural to the agate and adds dimensionality to the bead across its rotation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe surface character across all five photographs tells the age story without requiring interpretation. The ground zones between the stripes carry mixed gloss and matte surfaces — the original polish survives on the hardest stone zones while gentler areas have weathered to a more matte, micro-pitted quality over the centuries. This differential surface — part reflective, part absorbed — is visible in the light catch in Images 2 and 3 and is one of the most reliable visual markers of genuine extreme age in an agate dzi. The stripe bands themselves show the rough, granular, mineralised edge quality of etching that has been in the stone for a very long time: not the sharp crisp edges of recent work, but softened, ingrained, part of the surface now rather than sitting on top of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe body form is an elongated, acutely tapered fusiform — more sharply pointed at both ends than most dzi in the collection, giving the bead a lean, assertive profile that reads immediately as ancient in proportion. The drill holes at both ends are age-characteristic. The right end (Image 5) shows the enlarged, irregular-collared opening of ancient hand-drilling — a funnel-type entry worked rather than bored, with an irregular collar that no modern drill produces. The left end (Image 6) is comparatively cleaner, with the normal age weathering visible at the collar. Both passages are functional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThis bead differs from every other stripe-motif piece in the collection in its age category alone. The six tiger stripe carnelian (At-070822-6TS) is antique at 200–500 years; the four stripe agate barrel (At-061426-4Str) is antique at 300–500 years. This bead pre-dates both by at least five centuries, carrying an age estimate that places it in the same category as the Fifteen Eye Lotus (Ac-122924-15EL) and the Twenty Stars (Ac-030625-20S). The seven-stripe Chung dzi format — seven bands on a dark ground in the ancient agate dzi tradition — is among the rarest stripe counts in the collection and carries the full weight of a thousand or more years of accumulated surface history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Seven Stripe Chung Dzi (七條瓊珠 \/ Qī Tiáo Qióng Zhū)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe Chung dzi (瓊珠) is the striped category of the dzi tradition — a bead defined by its horizontal band composition, its dark ground, and the ancient etching technique that produced its markings. Seven stripes carry the accumulated meaning of the stripe tradition multiplied sevenfold: the continuous line that does not end, the path that persists through every obstacle, the success that accumulates without interruption — present in seven simultaneous registers wrapping the full circumference of the bead. In Tibetan and Himalayan communities, stripe-count in a Chung dzi correlates directly with the perceived potency and rarity of the piece. A seven-stripe Chung dzi of this age is not a common encounter, and the golden-tan etching bands visible against the near-pitch-black ground in these photographs carry that rarity in their colour as much as in their number.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMotif:\u003c\/strong\u003e Seven Stripe Chung Dzi (七條瓊珠 \/ Qī Tiáo Qióng Zhū); seven acid-etched horizontal stripe bands; golden-tan to warm sandy-brown etching on near-pitch-black agate ground; full circumference coverage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLength:\u003c\/strong\u003e 49.4mm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDiameter:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11.9mm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForm:\u003c\/strong\u003e Elongated acutely tapered fusiform; sharply pointed end caps; widest at centre\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Natural agate — near-pitch-black to deep dark warm-brown body ground (tonal variation across faces); golden-tan to warm sandy-brown acid-etched stripe bands; mixed gloss and matte-weathered surface consistent with extreme age\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAge Estimate:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1,000–1,500 years\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Differential surface weathering across ground zones (natural, age-consistent, disclosed); enlarged irregular drill collar at right end (ancient hand-drilling, disclosed, Image 5); surface micro-pitting consistent with age category; no structural cracks; no rework; no medicine digs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBloodspots:\u003c\/strong\u003e None observed\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct ID:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ac-081020-7SChung\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCollection:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/collections\/ancient-dzi-beads\"\u003eAncient Dzi Beads\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/collections\/antique-dzi-beads\"\u003eAntique Dzi Beads\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou may also like\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"[li_\u0026amp;]:mb-0 [li_\u0026amp;]:mt-1 [li_\u0026amp;]:gap-1 [\u0026amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [\u0026amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/products\/antique-single-stripe-dzi-020726\"\u003eAntique Single Stripe Chung Dzi (At-020726-Chung)\u003c\/a\u003e — single stripe Chung dzi, natural bicolour agate, ~500 years, same tradition at a fraction of the age, 38.2×11.5mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/products\/antique-six-tiger-stripe-carnelian-dzi\"\u003eAntique Six Tiger Stripe Carnelian Dzi (At-070822-6TS)\u003c\/a\u003e — six etched stripes in carnelian tradition, 200–500 years, 50.7×12.9mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/products\/antique-four-stripe-motif-dzi-bead-barrel-shape\"\u003eAntique Four Stripe Agate Dzi (At-061426-4Str)\u003c\/a\u003e — four etched stripes on agate, barrel form, 300–500 years, 32.3×14.3mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/products\/ancient-twenty-stars-carnelian-dzi\"\u003eAncient Twenty Stars Carnelian Dzi (Ac-030625-20S)\u003c\/a\u003e — comparable ancient age category, octagonal carnelian, 500–1,000 years\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/products\/ancient-fifteen-eye-lotus-carnelian-dzi\"\u003eAncient Fifteen Eye Lotus Carnelian Dzi (Ac-122924-15EL)\u003c\/a\u003e — comparable extreme age, 1,000–2,000 years, heavily weathered surface\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the blog\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"[li_\u0026amp;]:mb-0 [li_\u0026amp;]:mt-1 [li_\u0026amp;]:gap-1 [\u0026amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [\u0026amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/blogs\/news\/what-makes-a-dzi-bead-authentic\"\u003eWhat Makes a Dzi Bead Authentic?\u003c\/a\u003e — on reading differential surface weathering, ancient drill holes, and age markers in antique agate dzi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current\/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/blogs\/understanding-buddhism\/stripe-motif-dzi-meaning\"\u003eThe Meaning of the Stripe Motif in Dzi Tradition\u003c\/a\u003e — on the Chung dzi, stripe count, and the long tradition of horizontal banding in Tibetan protective beads\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eSeven stripes. A thousand years of surface. A ground so dark the golden bands have been earning their contrast ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eWe never retouch our photos. What you see is exactly what you will receive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e📷 We never retouch our photos. Every bead is photographed exactly as it is. What you see is what you receive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHashtags\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e#AncientDziShop #AncientDziBead #SevenStripeChungDzi #ChungDzi #瓊珠 #QiTiaoQiongZhu #SevenStripeDzi #AgateDzi #TibetanDziBead #HimalayanBead #AncientBead #TibetanJewelry #Ac0810207SChung #RareAncientDzi #StripeDzi\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ancient Dzi Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43962411942054,"sku":"","price":5000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0979\/7198\/files\/20200810_015658_a171d6cd-7115-4393-98d8-7f7b32c8b15f.jpg?v=1781417509","url":"https:\/\/www.ancientdzishop.com\/products\/ancient-seven-stripe-chung-dzi-agate-near-pitch-black-ac-081020-7schung","provider":"Ancient Dzi Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}