Four Stripe Agate Dzi, 32.3 × 14.3mm, deep cool grey-brown barrel, both ends chipped (Ac-061426-4Str)

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

The four stripe lines on this bead do not announce themselves — they hold.

Wrapped in four horizontal cream-beige etched bands, this compact barrel-form agate dzi divides its deep cool grey-brown body into three even registers. The stripes are not sharp; they carry the slightly raised, textured edge characteristic of acid-etched work that has been worn and handled over centuries, their surfaces roughened and softened at the same time. Seen straight-on in Image 6, the bead reads as almost architectural — a series of contained horizontal zones that sit quietly on a ground whose colour shifts subtly from a cooler grey-brown along the body to a deeper, warmer brown-mauve at the ends.

The body form is a true straight barrel — uniform diameter across its full 32.3mm length, with the widest point at 14.3mm. The surface carries the longitudinal micro-grooving that develops in ancient agate dzi over centuries of wear: fine parallel lines running along the axis of the bead, visible in Images 2 and 6 as a soft ribbing beneath the ground. This is not polish damage — it is the accumulated record of long use and age.

Both ends carry impact damage and are fully documented across Images 2 through 5. The right end (Image 2) shows more extensive chipping, with a ragged, multi-layered fracture zone that exposes the interior of the stone — a warm reddish-brown core visible beneath the darker etched surface, confirming the natural banding of the agate beneath. The drill hole is intact and clearly visible at centre. The left end (Images 3–5) carries a moderate chip with a curved fracture line running along the rim; the drill hole here is also intact and centred. Both ends are fully photographed. Please review all images carefully before purchasing.

The ground colour seen in these white-background photographs reads as a deep cool grey-brown — not warm, not chocolate, but a distinctly cooler, slightly desaturated brown with a subtle grey undertone. This is consistent throughout the body and distinguishes this bead from the warmer-toned antique stripe dzi in the collection. The four cream-beige stripe lines appear in a muted, slightly warm off-white — not bright white, not ivory, but a worn, aged cream that has absorbed the character of the stone around it.

At 500–700 years, this bead sits at the boundary of the antique and ancient classification — now correctly identified as ancient. It shares the straight-barrel stripe tradition with the Chung dzi family but carries only four stripes and lacks the bicone end-taper of those pieces. Among the stripe dzi in this collection, it is notably compact and broad relative to its length, giving it a stockier, more grounded presence than the longer fusiform carnelian stripe pieces.

The Four Stripe Motif

The stripe motif — known broadly within the Chung dzi (瓊珠) tradition — is among the oldest and most elemental designs in Tibetan dzi culture. Where eye motifs encode symbolic protection and fortune, the stripe motif speaks in a more primary language: division, structure, order. Four stripes produce five zones — a composition that has been read in various traditions as referencing the five elements, the four directions plus centre, or simply the act of marking a sacred object with deliberate horizontal rhythm. On this bead, the stripes wrap the full circumference evenly, making the count consistent from every angle — four bands, no more, no less.

Spec Block

Motif: Four Stripe (四條紋); four horizontal acid-etched cream-beige bands dividing the barrel body into three registers; uniform wrap on all sides
Length: 32.3mm
Diameter: 14.3mm
Form: Straight barrel
Material: Agate — deep cool grey-brown ground, cream-beige etched stripe lines
Age Estimate: 500–700 years
Condition: Impact chips at both ends — right end more extensive with ragged multi-layer fracture zone exposing warm reddish-brown interior; left end moderate chip with curved fracture line along rim; both drill holes intact; longitudinal surface micro-grooving consistent with age and long use; both ends fully documented in Images 2–5
Bloodspots: None
Product ID: Ac-061426-4Str
Collection: Ancient Dzi Beads | Antique Stripe Dzi

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For other stripe-tradition dzi in the collection:

• Ancient Seven Stripe Chung Dzi (SeS-1), 49.4×11.9mm — Ac-081020-7SChung
• Ancient Five Stripe Cho Dzi 措思天珠, 57.5×13.1mm — Ac-061426-5SChung
• Antique Single Stripe Chung Dzi, 38.2×11.5mm — At-020726-Chung
• Antique Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, 40.7×11.4mm — At-061920-7SChung
• Ancient Single Stripe Chung Dzi with Bloodspots, 31.4×9.6mm — Ac-061426-1SChungBS

From the blog:

• Understanding Dzi Bead Age and Authentication
• The Stripe Motif in Tibetan Dzi Tradition

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Four stripes, five hundred years, and both ends honest about everything they have been through.

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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