Tiger Tooth Motif Pair, 20.3×14.7mm & 20.5×14.7mm, warm terracotta agate with bloodspots (At-062926-TTBS)

🔍 Unretouched photos. 📐 Dimensions verified. ✅ Described from direct observation.

These two beads carry the same motif on the same warm ground — and the tiger tooth reads as a completely different composition on each one.

Both beads are formed from natural agate in a warm terracotta to dusty rose-tan ground, overlaid with deep chocolate-brown to near-black tiger tooth banding. The ground colour is consistent across the pair — a muted, earthy warm tone with a slight chalky softness in the lighter zones between the bands. What separates the two beads is not colour but contrast: the banding on Bead A is darker and more sharply defined, while on Bead B the same motif reads in a softer, more diffuse register against a marginally deeper reddish-brown ground.

Bead A (left in pair shots): The tiger tooth banding is deep, near-black to dark chocolate-brown — high contrast against the warm terracotta ground. The bands are crisply edged and read with strong definition across every rotation. The crown carries a distinctly faceted profile — a characteristic multifaceted cut at the apex that gives the bead a slightly angular silhouette rather than a smooth dome, visible clearly in the crown-up shots. This is a feature of the form, not a flaw.

Bead B (right in pair shots): The same warm terracotta-to-reddish-brown ground tone, but the banding here is a softer dark brown — the contrast between band and ground is lower, giving the motif a more integrated, absorbed quality. The tiger tooth sweeps read as part of the stone rather than applied over it. Bead B's crown has the same multifaceted cut form.

On these ovoid beads, the tiger tooth banding wraps the full surface without interruption. Because there is no fixed axis, the diagonal bands shift their reading continuously as the bead is turned — what resolves as a downward-sweeping chevron from one face becomes a rising arc from another. Images 3 through 7 document multiple rotations of both beads, and the composition reads differently in each.

The macro photo (Image 2) documents the bloodspot inclusions at close range. The cream-to-pale-peach zone of the surface shows a dense field of fine warm gold-brown to russet-orange micro-dots — smaller and more tightly packed than in some other bloodspot beads in the collection, distributed across the cream zone in a concentrated central cluster with scatter outward toward the edges. These are cinnabar (硃砂/zhusha, mercuric sulfide) inclusions, occurring naturally within the agate. Distribution pattern: cream-zone focused with central cluster. No cracks or chips are present — this is my own finding from all six photo angles.

The Tiger Tooth Motif

The tiger tooth (tasso) is one of the foundational dzi motifs, representing the protective power and grounded courage of the tiger — one of the Four Dignities in Tibetan tradition. The bold diagonal banding is believed to guard the wearer and confer inner strength. At 100–300 years of age, these beads have accumulated several generations of use before reaching this collection.

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Motif: Tiger Tooth (Tasso)
Length: Bead A: 20.3mm / Bead B: 20.5mm
Diameter: Bead A: 14.7mm / Bead B: 14.7mm
Form: Ovoid / round pair with multifaceted crown profile
Material: Agate
Age Estimate: 100–300 years
Condition: No cracks or chips. Multifaceted crown form is a feature of the original cut, not damage. This is my own observation from all photo angles.
Bloodspots: Tier 3 — macro photo documents cream-zone focused cinnabar (硃砂/zhusha, mercuric sulfide) inclusions with central cluster, warm gold-brown to russet-orange micro-dots, distributed across cream-zone of both beads
Product ID: At-062926-TTBS
Collection: Antique Dzi

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Other Tiger Tooth Dzi in the Shop

For an antique round bead combining the wave and tiger tooth motifs, see Ancient Round Double Wave Motif Dzi Bead — 200–400 years, dark ground.

For an ancient round tiger tooth bead in cool grey-brown agate, see Ancient Round Tiger Tooth Dzi Bead — 500+ years.

For new round tiger tooth dzi with extreme bloodspots, see New Pair of Round Tiger Tooth Dzi Beads With Extreme Bloodspots.

For a single new round tiger tooth bead in rose-red agate, see New Round Tiger Tooth Motif Dzi Bead Red Tint.

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📖 Learn more: What Are Dzi Beads? | What Makes a Dzi Bead Authentic?

Every bead at Ancient Dzi Shop is described and photographed without retouching, so what you see is exactly what you receive.

🔍 Unretouched photos. 📐 Dimensions verified. ✅ Described from direct observation.

Photos: Six unretouched product images including macro bloodspot documentation, multiple pair rotations, and drill-end views on white background.

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