Antique Green Tara Dzi, 41.4mm × 12.0mm, dark chocolate-brown, cinnabar bloodspots (At-043026-GT)

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

The Tara figure on this bead does not resolve into a face or body. It resolves into a gesture, and the gesture changes with every face you turn toward you.

Where eye beads repeat geometric forms and wave beads are symmetrical, the Green Tara dzi is figurative and flowing — an organic white line design that reads differently from each angle. Face A shows a large sweeping C-curve with a hooked curl at one end and a rounded form below, together suggesting a seated figure in the manner of Tibetan thangka painting. Face B shows a broad crescent with a smaller scroll curl beneath, the two in dialogue rather than mirroring each other. Neither face repeats the other.

The connecting faces carry double-wave lines — warm cream bands across a dark chocolate-brown field. Image 3 shows a clean pair of waves above and below a dark centre band; Image 5 shows a more organic variant, two cloud-like forms facing each other like commas. This variation is typical of hand-made decoration and adds to the bead's character.

The body is a well-proportioned elongated barrel, 41.4mm × 12.0mm, with a smooth, glossy surface that shows good preservation. The ground is a warm, deep chocolate-brown. The motif lines are a warm cream with a soft peach-ochre tone, partly the agate's own colour and partly from the cinnabar within the white areas. The end caps are a glossy medium brown, slightly lighter than the body, with small centred drill holes (Images 6 and 7).

Bloodspots

Images 8 and 9 show the bloodspots under magnification. The cream motif areas are filled with distinct rust-orange to burnt-orange cinnabar (朱砂) dots, from fine pinpoints to slightly larger spots, spread evenly without clustering. Image 9 shows the same dense dotting running right up to the edge of the dark figure. Cinnabar is a natural mineral inclusion within the agate. Bloodspots add to a bead's beauty and appeal, but they are not in themselves proof of age. Read more in our bloodspots guide.

The Green Tara Motif

Green Tara — Dolma (སྒྲོལ་མ་) in Tibetan, Dù Mǔ (度母) in Chinese — is one of the most beloved figures in Tibetan Buddhism: the female bodhisattva of compassionate action. She is shown seated in royal ease with one leg extended, ready to rise and help. Her green colour represents active compassion — she does not wait to be called but moves toward those in need. Among the Twenty-One Taras, Green Tara is regarded as the root from which the others arise. A Green Tara dzi is worn for protection, swift help in difficult times and the cultivation of fearlessness.

Specifications

• Motif: Green Tara (度母); flowing figurative design on two main faces; double-wave connecting faces
• Length: 41.4mm
• Diameter: 12.0mm
• Form: Elongated barrel with a smooth, glossy surface
• Material: Deep chocolate-brown agate with warm cream motif lines; medium brown end caps
• Age: Antique, estimated 200+ years
• Condition: No cracks; natural weathering and patina consistent with age; no medicine digs
• Bloodspots: Yes — Extreme; dense, evenly spread rust-orange cinnabar dots across the cream areas (Images 8 and 9)
• Product ID: At-043026-GT
• Collection: Antique Dzi Beads | Bloodspot Dzi Beads

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Further Reading

• Who Is Green Tara?
• Tara Dzi Beads: Which Eye Connects to Which Goddess
• Bloodspots in Dzi Beads

A figurative Green Tara motif, a dense field of natural cinnabar and more than two centuries of presence in a single 41.4mm bead.