Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, 49.1 × 12.8mm, warm honey-brown agate, tip damage disclosed (Ac-041320-7SChung)

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

⚠️ Condition disclosure: This bead has damage at both pointed tips — the right tip carries a more significant fracture; the left tip carries moderate damage. Both are photographed and fully disclosed in Images 3, 6, and 7. Please review all images carefully before purchasing.

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The first thing that separates this bead from every other seven-stripe Chung dzi is the ground — and the ground here is warm.

The collection holds one other seven-stripe Chung dzi (Ac-081020-7SChung). That bead's ground is near-pitch-black to deep dark warm-brown — the darkened, opaque body of a deeply treated ancient agate. This bead is its opposite in ground character. The agate here is warm honey-brown to warm grey-brown, semi-translucent, with the characteristic quality of a lighter-toned stone that allows light to pass through rather than absorbing it. In Images 4 and 7 — the end cap zones in particular — the translucency of the agate is plainly visible: the stone glows from within, showing internal light rather than presenting an opaque surface. This is a different geological expression of the same bead tradition, and the visual result is a piece that reads as warmer, lighter, and more open than its counterpart.

The seven etched stripe bands on this bead run sandy-tan to sandy-grey — the same mineralised granular character as the first seven-stripe Chung, but reading against a warm translucent ground rather than a near-pitch-black one. Between the stripe bands, the etching treatment has darkened the body zones to pitch-black or near-pitch-black, creating the characteristic Chung dzi contrast: dark etched ground, lighter stripe. On this bead, unusually, the stripe bands are the lighter element and the inter-stripe zones the darkest — while the natural agate ground in the untreated end cap zones is the warmest and lightest of all. The progression from warm honey-brown end cap through darkened pitch-black body zone to sandy-tan stripe and back again creates a tonal layering that is specific to this bead's particular agate and treatment history.

The tonal variation across the four face views is characteristic of the natural agate structure. Face A (Image 2) and Face C (Image 4) read warmest, with the honey-brown translucent quality most evident. Face D (Image 5) reads slightly cooler and darker, where the agate's mineral composition shifts toward a greyer tone. All four faces confirm the same seven-stripe Chung composition with the same sandy-tan band colour and darkened inter-stripe zones.

The surface of the body zones carries the mixed gloss and micro-pitted character of extreme age — the original polish survives on the hardest agate zones while softer areas have developed a matte, textured patina. A natural surface dig mark is visible in the lower field of Face A (Image 2), age-consistent and not structural.

Tip damage — full disclosure. Both pointed end tips have sustained damage. The right tip (Images 3 and 6) carries a more significant fracture — material is missing from the pointed end, with rough exposed interior agate visible. The drill hole at the right end is intact within the damaged zone and functional. The left tip (Image 7) carries moderate damage with an irregular fracture edge; the drill hole here is clearly visible, showing a warm reddish-orange interior characteristic of ancient drill passages where the inner stone colour differs from the outer surface. Neither tip fracture affects the body of the bead, the stripe motif, or the structural integrity of either drill passage. Both are old — smooth-edged and well-integrated with the overall surface age of the piece.

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The Seven Stripe Chung Dzi (七條瓊珠 / Qī Tiáo Qióng Zhū)

The Chung dzi (瓊珠) is the striped category of the dzi tradition — a bead defined by its horizontal band composition and the ancient etching technique that created its markings on a natural agate ground. Seven stripes carry the accumulated meaning of the stripe motif concentrated into a rare high count: the continuous line that does not end, the success that persists and compounds, the path that holds its direction through seven complete registers wrapping the full circumference. Seven-stripe Chung dzi of this age category are among the rarest pieces in the Chung tradition. Where single or three-stripe examples are more frequently encountered, a bead carrying seven distinct stripe bands at 1,000–1,500 years represents a convergence of motif complexity and extreme age that very few collections hold. The warm translucent agate of this particular piece adds a further dimension to its character — the stone itself is unusual in the collection, and the interaction between its honey-brown ground and the darkened etched zones creates a surface that rewards sustained attention.

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Specifications

Motif: Seven Stripe Chung Dzi (七條瓊珠 / Qī Tiáo Qióng Zhū); seven acid-etched horizontal stripe bands; sandy-tan to sandy-grey etched lines; pitch-black darkened inter-stripe zones; warm honey-brown to warm grey-brown translucent agate ground in untreated end cap zones
Length: 49.1mm
Diameter: 12.8mm
Form: Elongated fusiform; pointed end caps (both damaged); widest at centre
Material: Natural agate — warm honey-brown to warm grey-brown semi-translucent ground; pitch-black darkened etched body zones between stripe bands; sandy-tan to sandy-grey acid-etched stripe bands; warm reddish-orange drill channel interior (left end); mixed gloss and matte-weathered surface
Age Estimate: 1,000–1,500 years
Condition: ⚠️ Right tip fracture — significant chip at pointed end, drill hole intact (Images 3 and 6). Left tip moderate damage — irregular fracture edge, drill hole intact and visible (Image 7). Natural surface dig mark on Face A lower field (Image 2). No body cracks. No rework. No medicine digs. Both drill passages functional.
Bloodspots: None observed
Product ID: Ac-041320-7SChung
Collection: Ancient Dzi Beads | Antique Dzi Beads

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Companion Chung Dzi & Related Stripe Motifs

Seven-stripe Chung dzi share the etched stripe tradition with other rare high-count beads. Below are related examples across the ancient, antique, and new collections.

Ancient

Ancient examples represent extreme age (500+ years) and are the closest companions to this piece.

• Ancient Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, 49.4×11.9mm, near-pitch-black ground, 1,000–1,500 years (Ac-081020-7SChung) — the direct companion bead with darkened ground and golden-tan stripe bands, 1,000–1,500 years, $5000.00
• Ancient Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, 48.2×12.4mm, warm dark brown agate, 1,000–1,500 years (Ac-080620-7SChung) — seven etched stripes on warm brown ground with minor scratches disclosed, extreme age, $5000.00
• Ancient Five Stripe Cho Dzi (措思天珠), 57.5×13.1mm, milky translucent grey-white with pitch-black bands, 1,000–1,500 years (Ac-061426-5SChung) — rare pale translucent ground with five etched stripes, comparable tradition, $8000.00
• Ancient Single Stripe Chung Dzi (黑白珠), 26.3×9.7×7.8mm, belly form with medicine-chipped ends, 1,000+ years (Ac-061526-1SBW) — earliest example of the Chung tradition, single stripe on bicolour ground, $8000.00

Antique

Antique Chung dzi (100–500 years) offer more accessible examples of stripe motif beads with authentic age and patina.

• Antique Nine Stripe Chung Dzi with Bloodspots, 44.7×11.6mm, pitch-black ground, 200–500 years (At-110223-9SBS) — nine etched stripes with cinnabar inclusions, highest stripe count in antique range, $1700.00
• Antique Five Stripe Chung Dzi, 48.2×13.1mm, warm terracotta reddish-brown agate, 200–500 years (At-070622-5SChung) — five etched stripes on warm ground, distinctive colour, $1500.00
• Antique Single Stripe Chung Dzi Pair, 15.7×11.5mm & 15.8×11.5mm, warm dark brown with greying stripe, bicone form, 200–500 years (At-081123-1SPair) — matched pair of smaller single-stripe beads, classic Chung tradition, $800.00
• Antique Single Stripe Bow-Shaped Chung Dzi, 38.1×11.5×8.9mm, tricolour natural agate, 200–500 years (At-061526-1SBow) — single stripe on rare bow form with three natural agate tones, $700.00

New & Vintage

Modern and vintage examples provide accessible entry points to the stripe motif tradition.

• Vintage Double Wave Motif Dzi Bead, 31.8×11.6mm, black and brown agate, 1980s Taiwan (V-071425-DW) — wave pattern as etched stripe variant, warm vintage patina, $500.00
• New Double Wave Motif Dzi Bead, 57.8×12.6mm, very dark brown agate with honey-brown end caps (N-062226-DW3) — modern wave stripe motif with warm toned ground, $200.00

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From the blog

• What Makes a Dzi Bead Authentic? — on reading differential surface weathering, ancient drill holes, and age markers in antique agate dzi
• The Meaning of the Stripe Motif in Dzi Tradition — on the Chung dzi, stripe count, and the long tradition of horizontal banding in Tibetan protective beads

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Seven stripes on a ground that lets the light through — the same ancient tradition, read in a completely different stone.

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

📷 We never retouch our photos. Every bead is photographed exactly as it is. What you see is what you receive.

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