New Four Activities Dzi, 27.3×11.5mm, cool grey-brown agate, antique-style crackle finish (N-FA-071126-4ACT2)

🌿 Ethically sourced. Unretouched photos. What you see is what you receive.

This piece carries the same Four Activities motif and the same deliberate crackle finish as its companion piece N-FA-071126-4ACT — but the two beads are not identical, and the differences are visible in the photographs.

The ground colour on this piece is cooler and more uniform. The companion piece carries a warm beige-grey in its lighter zones; on this bead, those same zones read as a cooler, flatter grey with less warmth in the tone. The contrast between the lighter and darker zones is also lower here — on some faces, the dark zones bleed into each other rather than sitting as discrete shapes. Image 2 shows this most clearly, where the dark zones merge across a broad central field. Image 3 resolves into a more legible reading: two large dark zones enclosed by lighter grey surroundings, giving this face a two-element composition different from the tighter grid seen on the same rotation of the companion piece. Images 1 and 4 show the characteristic Four Activities lattice, here with the crackle network particularly prominent — more widely distributed across the surface than on the companion piece, covering the lighter zones as well as the darker ones.

The end caps in images 5 and 6 carry a more pronounced aged texture than the companion piece — rough, granular, and matte, with a pitted surface character that the deliberate crackle treatment has emphasised. Both drill holes are small and centred, visible in each end image. The end cap surface in image 6 in particular shows the crackle treatment at its most prominent.

At 27.3×11.5mm, this bead is essentially the same size as N-FA-071126-4ACT at 27.8×11.4mm — a half-millimetre shorter, a tenth of a millimetre wider. On a strand, the two pieces would sit at the same scale without visible disparity.

This is not a genuine antique or ancient bead. It was crafted in Taiwan and deliberately finished to carry an aged appearance.

The Four Activities Motif

The Four Activities (四業, sìyè) represent the four Buddhist ritual actions attributed to enlightened beings: pacifying, enriching, magnetising, and subjugating. Together they cover the full range of ways that spiritual power acts in the world — calming harm, increasing good fortune, drawing in positive conditions, and overcoming obstacles. A Four Activities dzi is traditionally worn as a comprehensive piece because all four energies are present simultaneously.

Spec Block

Motif: Four Activities — overlapping wave and lattice elements; dark zones more confluent on this piece than on companion N-FA-071126-4ACT; crackle network widely distributed
Length: 27.3mm
Diameter: 11.5mm
Form: Barrel, compact fusiform
Material: Agate — cool grey-brown ground, lower contrast between light and dark zones than companion piece; antique-style crackle surface finish
Age Estimate: New
Condition: Good. Crackle surface finish is deliberate — applied to replicate aged appearance. Not genuine age. End caps carry more pronounced rough texture than companion piece. No cracks, chips, or damage.
Bloodspots: None
Product ID: N-FA-071126-4ACT2
Collection: Taiwan Dzi · New & Vintage Dzi · All Products

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Its companion piece: N-FA-071126-4ACT — 27.8×11.4mm, same motif and crackle finish, warmer ground tone, more discrete dark zones, less prominent end cap texture.

Looking for the genuine article?
The collection also holds an antique Four Activities dzi with genuine age and beautiful bloodspots: Antique Tibetan Dzi Adorned with the Four Activities Motif

Further reading: Dzi Motifs and Their Interpretations · How to Choose a Dzi Bead

Every bead at Ancient Dzi Shop is photographed without filters or retouching. What you see is what you receive.

🌿 Ethically sourced. Unretouched photos. What you see is what you receive.

Photo line: All 6 photographs are unretouched. Images 1–4 show four face orientations of the Four Activities motif. Images 5 and 6 show the two drill-hole end caps with the antique-style crackle texture visible.

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