Antique Bow-Shaped Natural Dzi, 107.1×19.0×14.3mm, pitch-black banded agate (At-N-071126-BOW)

🌿 Ethically sourced. Unretouched photos. What you see is what you receive.

At 107 millimetres, this bow-shaped bead does not fit inside a closed hand — and the curve it describes, from one tapered tip to the other, is the full arc of a piece that spent centuries outside ordinary use.

The bow form is among the least common shapes in the dzi tradition. A standard dzi barrel runs straight from drill hole to drill hole. This piece bends. The axis curves, and the banding — two paired groups of natural stripes, each consisting of a broader blue-grey band flanked by a narrower pale grey-white line — wraps around the full circumference, visible from every angle. Image 1 shows the convex outer face of the curve; image 3 shows the concave inner face; image 2 shows how the same bead reads when viewed straight on from the side, resolving into a shape that resembles a long fusiform barrel. The piece is three things depending on the angle.

The ground colour is pitch-black, confirmed from flat-lit white-background photographs across four separate images. The polish is uniformly high across the full 107.1mm length. At the tapered ends, faint warm tones are visible in the agate's underlying structure — a natural property of the layered stone that the dominant black surface largely absorbs. Images 5 and 6 show both drill holes: each is small, clean, and centred at the tip of its respective taper. The two ends are not identical — the end in image 6 is marginally wider than the end in image 5, a natural asymmetry in the original stone.

Condition across all six photographs is without fault. No cracks, no chips, no surface marks. The polish shows no interruption. This is independently confirmed from the photographs, not assumed.

At 200–500 years of age, pieces of this scale were rarely worn as personal adornment. A bead 107mm long presents practical challenges for stringing in wearable jewellery. The more probable use for a piece this size, in the Himalayan and Tibetan contexts from which banded agate dzi originate, is as an altar object — displayed, venerated, handled during practice, but not routinely worn. Its survival in this condition over that period of time is consistent with that kind of careful, protected use.

Spec Block

Motif: None — naturally banded agate, no applied or symbolic motif
Length: 107.1mm
Width: 19.0mm
Depth: 14.3mm
Form: Bow-shaped (curved barrel), naturally formed
Material: Natural banded agate — pitch-black ground, blue-grey and pale grey-white banding
Age Estimate: 200–500 years
Condition: No cracks, chips, or surface marks. High polish throughout. Independently confirmed from photographs.
Bloodspots: None
Product ID: At-N-071126-BOW
Collection: Natural Agate Dzi · Antique Dzi · All Products

Other bow-shaped natural dzi in this collection:
The existing bow-shaped family — N-N-062026-BOW through BOW6 — are all new production pieces. At-N-071126-BOW is the first antique bow-shaped natural dzi in the collection, and at 107.1mm it is the longest bow-shaped piece held here.

Further reading: What Gives Dzi Beads Value? · Where Do Dzi Beads Come From?

Every bead at Ancient Dzi Shop is photographed without filters or retouching. What you see is what you receive.

🌿 Ethically sourced. Unretouched photos. What you see is what you receive.

Photo line: All 6 photographs are unretouched. Images 1 and 3–4 show the convex and concave curve faces. Image 2 shows the straight side profile. Images 5 and 6 show the two tapered drill-hole ends.

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