Antique Four Eye Dzi, open C-ring eyes, two-tone terracotta-orange & dark-brown agate, 57.1mm × 14.4mm (At-060126-4E2)

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

The warm terracotta-orange on this bead is not the etching. It is the agate.

Look at the photographs carefully: the eye ring colour, the end cap colour and the lower body colour are all the same warm terracotta-orange, burnt sienna. That is because they are the same material. The natural agate of this bead is two-tone, warm terracotta-orange in its lower and end zones, moving into deep dark chocolate-brown along the upper ridge and mid-body. When the four eye rings were etched, the craftsman was working into stone that already carried this warmth. The motif didn't add the colour. The colour was already there, and the eyes were drawn into it.

The bead measures 57.1mm × 14.4mm, one of the most physically substantial antique dzi in the collection. The elongated spindle form is dramatic: the taper begins close to the mid-section and sharpens quickly to pointed end caps, giving a long, lean silhouette that widens through the centre. At 14.4mm in diameter the bead has real weight and presence in the hand; Images 7 and 8 show it held between the fingers.

The four eyes are distributed around the bead, two per main face on opposite sides, and all four are open C-rings: bold, wide arcs of warm terracotta-orange curving across the dark ground. The bottom face shows the undersides of all four rings wrapping around the body. This sets it apart from the amber Four Eye, whose amber-orange motif sits on a uniformly dark ground, and the Four Eye and Tiger Tooth, whose eyes and tiger tooth motifs occupy separate faces.

The surface is consistently matte throughout, without glassy polish, an aged matte consistent with the 200–300 year age estimate. The in-hand close-ups (Images 7 and 8) show fine micro-pitting, subtle weathering lines in the darker ground, and the softened edges of etching that has been in contact with skin and air for two centuries.

The bead carries minor natural cinnabar inclusions visible in the dark ground in Images 7 and 8: small, warm-toned, scattered. They are disclosed fully, but they are not prominent and this is not listed as a bloodspot dzi. No cracks.

The Four Eye (四眼) Motif

The Four Eye dzi is understood in Tibetan tradition to remove obstacles and hindrances, allowing its wearer to achieve success with ease. Where a single eye sharpens vision and two eyes cultivate harmony, four eyes act as a comprehensive clearing, the four eyes suggesting the four directions. Read more in The Four Eye Dzi Bead: Symbolism and Significance.

Specifications

• Motif: Four Eye (四眼); four open C-ring eyes, two per main face on opposite sides
• Length: 57.1mm
• Diameter: 14.4mm
• Form: Elongated spindle; sharply tapered to pointed end caps; wide at centre
• Material: Two-tone natural agate: warm terracotta-orange in the lower and end zones, deep dark chocolate-brown along the upper ridge; terracotta-orange motif and end caps
• Age estimate: Antique, 200–300 years
• Condition: No cracks; matte surface; fine micro-pitting and weathering consistent with age
• Bloodspots: Minor natural cinnabar inclusions in the dark zone (Images 7 and 8); not listed as a bloodspot dzi
• Product ID: At-060126-4E2
• Collection: Antique Dzi Beads

More Four Eye Dzi

Antique

• Antique Four Eye and Dharma Conch Dzi, warm brown agate
• Antique Four Eye and Tiger Tooth Dzi, very dark brown agate
• Antique Four Eye and Earth Gate Dzi, pitch-black agate
• Antique Round Four Eye, Lotus and Treasure Vase Dzi
• Antique Four Eye and Wave Dzi, warm medium brown agate
• Antique Four Eye Dzi with Bloodspots, pitch-black and bright white

New and vintage

• New Four Eye Variant Dzi, dark warm brown
• New Four Eye Variant Dzi, warm brown
• New Four Eye Variant Dzi, dark brown-black and cream
• New Four Eye Variant Dzi, dark brown and honey
• New Four Eye Dzi, medium-dark warm brown
• Vintage Four Eye Dzi, black agate
• Vintage Four Eye Dzi, dark brown agate

From the blog

• The Four Eye Dzi Bead: Symbolism and Significance
• How to Tell Real vs. Fake Dzi Beads

A 200–300 year old four eye spindle in two-tone terracotta and dark brown agate, carrying a colour that belongs entirely to the stone.

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