Antique Single Stripe Bow-shaped Chung Dzi, 38.1×11.5×8.9mm, tricolour natural agate (At-061526-1SBow)

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

The stripe on this bead does not sit between two matching end zones — the stone chose three entirely different colours, and the bow-shaped body moves through all of them at once.

At the centre of this bead runs a single band of deep charcoal-grey agate — not pitch-black, but a dense, cool dark grey that reads almost architectural against what surrounds it. To its left, the agate transitions to a cool translucent grey-white, near-glassy and milky in strong light, the kind of translucency that only occurs in high-quality natural agate that has been worn and polished over centuries. To its right, the material shifts again: a warm peach-orange zone with soft brown inclusion pockets moving through it, organic and uneven, the record of how this stone formed beneath the earth long before it was shaped into a bead.

The body form is what makes this bead immediately distinct from every other single-stripe Chung dzi in the collection. It is not fusiform. It is not barrel-shaped. It is bow-shaped — the upper profile describes a gentle outward arc, a convex curve, while the lower profile runs comparatively flat. The result is a body that does not taper symmetrically but leans slightly, as though the stone itself had a preferred direction. The third dimension (8.9mm at its widest cross-section) confirms what the photographs show: this bead is not round in cross-section. It is slightly flattened, the bow curve creating a form unlike any other piece in this collection.

The surface carries a high-gloss polish across the main body, catching light in long white highlight streaks visible across the grey-white and peach-orange zones in Images 2 and 4. The end cap face (Image 7) shows a subtly more matte-satin finish, consistent with age-related differential wear between the body and the tip. The dark central stripe shows fine surface micro-abrasion scoring — lines consistent with centuries of handling and contact wear, not damage. Two small pinholes are visible on the bead body (Images 5 and 7) and are fully disclosed. No chips. No cracks. No medicine digs.

No etching was applied to this bead. The single dark stripe is the agate itself — a natural colour band formed during the stone's geological development. This places it in the same rare category as At-020726-Chung (Antique Single Stripe Chung Dzi), which also carries a natural dark central band with no etching. The two beads are distinguished clearly: At-020726-Chung is a short wide fusiform with an ivory-cream and dark bicolour composition and a soft gradient transition; this bead is a bow-shaped form with a hard-edged tricolour composition — grey-white, charcoal-grey, and peach-orange — and a body geometry that has no parallel in the collection. Age estimates also differ: At-020726-Chung is estimated at approximately 500 years; this bead is estimated at 200–300 years, placing it firmly in the antique range.

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The Single Stripe Motif — 瓊珠一線紋

The single stripe, or one-line Chung dzi (瓊珠一線紋), is among the most structurally direct expressions in the Tibetan and Himalayan bead tradition. A single horizontal band encircling the bead's body represents an unbroken boundary — a line that divides the world into above and below, earth and sky, form and emptiness. In Tibetan folk belief, the single stripe is associated with continuous success and unbroken flow: a line that has no beginning and no end, circling the bead without interruption. Businesspeople and traders have long favoured single-stripe beads for this reason, associating the unbroken band with the continuity of fortune and the persistence of prosperity. On this bead, the stripe is not white or cream — it is the dark void at the centre, flanked by light, which inverts the conventional reading and gives this particular piece an unusual contemplative quality.

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Motif: Single stripe (一線紋); one horizontal deep charcoal-grey natural agate band across central body, flanked by cool translucent grey-white (left) and warm peach-orange with brown natural inclusions (right)
Length: 38.1mm
Diameter: 11.5mm (max); 8.9mm (cross-section depth — bow form)
Form: Bow-shaped; asymmetric body profile — upper edge convex arc, lower edge comparatively flat; slightly flattened cross-section; rounded dome end caps
Material: Natural tricolour agate — no etching; deep charcoal-grey central stripe; cool translucent grey-white end zone (left); warm peach-orange zone with brown natural inclusions (right)
Age Estimate: 200–300 years
Condition: Fine surface micro-abrasion scoring on dark band (age-consistent wear); two small pinholes on body (disclosed, Images 5 and 7); no chips; no cracks; no medicine digs
Bloodspots: None
Product ID: At-061526-1SBow
Collection: Antique Chung Dzi | Antique Dzi Beads

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You may also like:

• Antique Single Stripe Chung Dzi — At-020726-Chung — Natural bicolour agate, fusiform body, ~500 yrs
• Antique Seven Stripe Chung Dzi — At-061920-7SChung — Seven acid-etched stripes, warm honey-brown ground, 200–300 yrs
• Antique Four Stripe Agate Dzi — At-061426-4Str — True barrel form, cool grey-brown ground, 300–500 yrs
• Ancient Single Stripe Chung Dzi with Bloodspots — Ac-061426-1SChungBS — Pitch-black stripe, mosaic calcification, cinnabar inclusions, 1,500–2,000 yrs

From the blog:

• What Is a Chung Dzi? Understanding Striped Agate Beads
• How to Identify Genuine Antique Dzi Beads

One stripe. Three stones. One body that bends.

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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