Antique Tasso Motif Dzi Bead with Bloodspot Constellation, 28.7mm × 11.2mm, Pitch-Black Agate (At-092924-TaBS2)

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

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Image 6 is not a standard product photograph.

Most dzi listings show the bead at distance — profile shots, end cap shots, the motif presented against a clean white background. Image 6 on this listing is something different: an extreme macro taken while the bead is held between fingers, the camera pressed close enough to resolve individual cinnabar micro-dots as distinct red-orange points against the cream field. Dozens of them. Scattered in a loose constellation across the Tasso zone — some in tight clusters, some isolated, some resolving into the larger rust-orange formations that develop when cinnabar accumulates around a single site over centuries. The surface micro-pitting of the agate — the fine weathering texture that accumulates only with genuine age — is also visible at this scale, separate from the bloodspots, quietly confirming that this bead has existed for a very long time.

That photograph was not staged. We never retouch our photos, and we never manipulate the surface of a bead before photographing it. What Image 6 shows is exactly what is on this bead: a bloodspot field of unusual density and clarity, documented at macro scale so there is no ambiguity about what you are acquiring.

The Tasso motif itself presents differently on each face. On the primary face, two curved cream tooth-forms face each other across the pitch-black ground — a chevron or opposing-fang composition, the negative space between them reading as a pointed dark arrowhead. Rotate the bead ninety degrees and the same forms read as an S-curve or wave, the balance between cream and pitch-black shifting as the viewing angle changes. Rotate again and the teeth open into a spread V. The Tasso is one of the most geometrically dynamic motifs in the dzi tradition: a single etching that generates multiple readings depending on orientation. This is why it is also interpreted as the Tiger Tooth, the Horse Tooth, and the Wave — not because scholars disagree, but because the motif genuinely contains all three readings simultaneously.

The body is a tight compact barrel: 28.7mm long, 11.2mm in diameter — the most compact Tasso bead in this collection, and the one with the deepest ground colour. The pitch-black field on this bead is dense and absolute, with none of the brown warmth that appears on the other Tasso listing. The end caps are a distinctive deep wine-brown — a rich burgundy agate tone visible in all the images — with well-centred drill holes on both tips.

The Tasso Motif is associated across Tibetan dzi tradition with strength and courage — the force of the tiger, the endurance of the horse, the persistence of the wave that does not break. It is worn by those who need to move through difficulty, and by those who want to carry the quality of forward momentum.

This bead is estimated to be 300 to 500 years old. Material is high-quality natural agate. Condition is excellent — no cracks. Natural weathering marks and minor digs present throughout, consistent with a piece of this age.

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SPECIFICATIONS

Motif: Tasso (Tiger Tooth / Horse Tooth / Wave) Length: 28.7 mm Diameter: 11.2 mm Form: Compact barrel with deep wine-brown end caps Material: Natural agate — pitch-black ground, cream Tasso zones Age Estimate: 300–500 years Condition: Excellent — no cracks; natural weathering marks and minor digs present Bloodspots: Yes — macro-confirmed cinnabar micro-dot constellation, vermilion-red and rust-orange formations in cream field Product ID: At-092924-TaBS2 Collection: Antique Dzi Beads | Bloodspot Dzi

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You may also like:

• Antique Tibetan Tasso / Tiger Tooth Dzi with Bloodspots, 29.9mm — At-052526-TaBS
• Antique Wave & Stripe Dzi with Bloodspot Inclusions — At-052526-WS

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Three to five centuries. A constellation of red. Every dot placed by geology, not by hand.

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

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