Tiger Tooth & Lotus Dzi, 28.6mm × 11.6mm, warm medium brown, pervasive cinnabar bloodspots (At-091124-TTL)

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

The dark markings on this bead are not stripes or geometric lines — they spread across the surface as irregular organic blotches, the way natural banding moves through stone.

This is the only Tiger Tooth & Lotus dzi in the collection, and its visual character is unlike any other bead here. The agate is a warm medium brown — a genuine mid-tone brown with even warmth throughout — and over it, deep dark brown to near-black blotches spread in organic, irregular forms across every face. There are no crisp geometric dividers, no clean stripe bands, no sharp boundaries. The dark zones bleed into the brown ground gradually, creating a composition that feels more like a natural stone with dramatic inherent markings than a conventionally etched dzi. This is intentional — the Tiger Tooth & Lotus tradition draws the motif into the existing character of the agate rather than imposing a rigid pattern over it.

The tiger tooth element is visible in the close-up photography (Images 1 and 8) as etched chevron and arc forms within the brown zones — fine lines tracing the characteristic tooth-form of the tiger tooth tradition across the warm brown agate. The lotus element (Image 2) appears as a circular open ring with a dark centre sitting within one face — the lotus reduced to its essential form, a clean ring readable even within the surrounding organic blotching. Both elements require the close-up photography to identify precisely. At full-bead scale (Images 3, 4, 5) the composition reads as a unified whole-surface pattern — dark brown blotches on warm brown agate, the two motifs woven into the overall character of the stone rather than announced separately.

The body is a wide compact barrel at 28.6mm × 11.6mm — short and full, with a rounded profile that wraps the motif around the entire circumference. The end caps (Images 6 and 7) are a warm medium brown consistent with the body, with a rust-orange drill hole interior visible in Image 7. The surface is heavily weathered — fine crackle lines and surface texture are visible across both the warm brown and dark zones in the macro images, consistent with three to five centuries of genuine ageing in the agate.

The bloodspots are pervasive across the entire surface. The cinnabar (硃砂, zhūshā) — mercuric sulfide occurring as a natural geological inclusion within the agate matrix — appears as a fine warm golden-brown to rust-orange dusting distributed throughout the brown zones. The original listing notes the bead is covered with bloodspots, and the close-up photography confirms it: the cinnabar saturation is spread across the full surface as a fine warm tint rather than appearing as discrete dots or localised clusters. This pervasive, whole-surface bloodspot distribution — the cinnabar embedded throughout the agate as a continuous warm presence — is a distinct character not seen in this form in any other bead in the collection.

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The Tiger Tooth & Lotus Motif

The Tiger Tooth motif (虎牙紋) is associated in Tibetan Buddhist tradition with strength, courage, and protection. The Lotus motif (蓮花紋) represents purity, spiritual awakening, and the capacity to rise above ordinary conditions — the lotus blooming from mud while remaining untouched by it. Together the two motifs work on complementary levels: the tiger's protective strength and the lotus's purifying wisdom held simultaneously in a single bead. The combination is understood to purify mental vision, bringing greater wisdom and enlightenment alongside the courage and strength needed to act on both.

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Spec Block

Motif: Tiger Tooth & Lotus (虎牙紋 + 蓮花紋); tiger tooth as etched chevron/arc forms in brown zones; lotus as circular open ring with dark centre; organic deep dark blotch patterning across full surface Length: 28.6mm Diameter: 11.6mm Form: Wide compact barrel, full rounded profile, motif wraps entire circumference without interruption Material: Warm medium brown agate ground; deep dark brown to near-black organic blotch markings; warm medium brown end caps with rust-orange drill hole interior (inherent agate colour) Age Estimate: 300–500 years Condition: No cracks; heavily weathered surface — fine crackle lines and surface texture throughout; minor weathering marks consistent with age Bloodspots: Yes — pervasive fine warm golden-brown to rust-orange cinnabar (硃砂) distributed throughout warm brown zones across entire surface; confirmed in close-up photography; original listing notes bead is "covered with bloodspots" Product ID: At-091124-TTL Collection: Antique Dzi Collection | Bloodspot Dzi Collection

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• Antique Three Diamond Eye & Tiger Tooth Dzi with Bloodspots (At-053126-3DETT) — terracotta-red agate, diamond eye combined with tiger tooth
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Blog Links

• What Are Dzi Beads? History, Meaning & Authenticity
• How to Identify Authentic Antique Dzi Beads

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Strength and purity on warm brown agate — the tiger's mark and the lotus ring, three to five centuries old.

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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