Three Eye Motif, 48.4×11.9mm, dark agate (At-090226-3E2)

✦ Every piece at Ancient Dzi Shop is unretouched and sold as shown. ✦

The three eyes on this bead do not share a face — one sits alone on one side, and two face each other across the other.

This antique Tibetan three-eye dzi distributes its motif unevenly across the two main faces of the barrel. One face presents a single centred eye — a dark pupil enclosed in a cream iris, set within a broad cream field framed by vertical bars. The opposing face carries the remaining two eyes side by side, their cream rings nearly touching at the centre line, the dark pupils reading as a pair. Neither face is a repetition of the other. The composition only fully declares itself after the bead has been turned all the way around.

The cream zones on this bead are broad and dominant, consistent with the same crafting generation as the double wave pieces offered alongside it. The black ground lines cut through wide cream fields rather than the reverse, giving the motif an open, expansive character. The cream itself is warm rather than stark white — a deep, aged cream-tan that has taken on some warmth over its estimated 200–400 years of age. The vertical bar separators flanking each eye composition are clearly defined, and the ring construction of each eye is precise, with the outer boundary crisp against the surrounding cream.

At 48.4mm with a fusiform profile, this bead sits comfortably alongside the full-sized antique barrels in this collection. The surface carries a smooth, well-settled patina consistent with genuine antique age. No cracks are present in the photos. The drill end caps show a warm reddish-brown tone distinct from the darker body — the natural colour of the agate at the tips.

The bead is offered as part of a group of three antique pieces from the same crafting tradition and estimated age range — the other two are double wave dzi (At-090226-DW6 and At-090226-DW7). All three share the same broad cream zones, the same dark body ground, and the same smooth, aged surface character.

The Three Eye Motif

The three-eye dzi is among the most traditionally significant of all dzi motifs, associated in Tibetan belief with the wealth deity Kubera and the three sources of prosperity — material abundance, spiritual merit, and the fulfilment of wishes. Historically worn by Tibetan traders, nobles, and practitioners as a talisman of fortune and protection, the three-eye dzi remains one of the most sought-after motifs in the dzi tradition and one of the most immediately recognisable.

Motif: Three Eye
Length: 48.4mm
Diameter: 11.9mm
Form: Barrel, fusiform
Material: Agate — dark body with warm reddish-brown natural colour at the drill-end caps
Age Estimate: 200–400 years
Condition: Smooth aged patina; no cracks visible in photos
Bloodspots: None
Product ID: At-090226-3E2
Collection: Antique Dzi | All Products

From the same crafting group:

• At-090226-DW6 — Antique Double Wave, 49.4×11.8mm, black agate
• At-090226-DW7 — Antique Double Wave, 48.8×12.1mm, black agate

More antique three eye dzi:

• At-053126-3E — Antique Three Eye, warm brown
• At-061926-3ETT — Antique Three Eye Tiger Tooth, 46.2×12.9mm
• At-090226-3E3 — Antique Three Eye, 50mm, dark brown-black

Learn more about dzi beads:

• The Three-Eye Dzi Bead: Meaning & Symbolism
• Dzi Bead Motifs and Their Meanings

Every bead at Ancient Dzi Shop is photographed unretouched — no filters, no colour correction, no digital enhancement. The four photos above show this bead exactly as it is.

✦ Unretouched photos. Authentic piece. Sold as shown. ✦

📷 4 unretouched product photos included.