Two Eye, Tiger Tooth & Stars Carnelian Dzi, 52.2 × 15.1mm, terracotta-red, chip disclosed (At-061426-2ETTSt)

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

⚠️ Condition disclosure: This bead has a noticeable chip at one end cap. It is photographed fully and disclosed in Images 6, 7, 8, and 9. Please review all images carefully before purchasing.

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This bead carries four faces and no two of them resolve into the same composition — the eye appears, disappears, and is replaced by something else entirely each time you rotate it.

The motif on this carnelian dzi is one of the most compositionally varied in the antique carnelian collection: two circular eyes, tiger tooth wave elements, and a pair of solid star dots, each category distributed across a different face so that the full vocabulary of the bead is only understood by holding and turning it. Face A (Image 2) presents one circular eye at its clearest — a round closed ring sitting within a bilateral field of flowing tiger tooth wave lines, framed by double vertical stripe dividers at each end. Face C (Image 4) carries the second eye on the opposite face: slightly more open in its internal void, with the same wave fill and double stripe framing, on a warmer, more evenly terracotta-red ground.

Faces B and D offer the bead's other register. Face B (Image 3) presents a large arched tiger tooth form in the upper field — a bold curved chevron spanning the full width of the motif zone — with smaller curved elements below and two small solid dot star marks in the lower centre field. Face D (Image 5) carries the most symmetrical composition: a complex interlocking hourglass or bowtie form at the centre, with paired C-curve elements meeting at a central axis, and two oval dot stars distributed within the field. These are not accidental marks — they are the star (星 / xīng) elements, deliberately placed as solid dots, a motif form that appears in the ancient carnelian tradition and carries its own significance distinct from the eye.

The carnelian ground across all four faces is warm terracotta-red to dark reddish-brown, with a notable zone of dark grey-brown natural agate banding concentrated around the eye area on Face A — visible in Image 2 as a shadowed field within the stone, most pronounced to the right of the eye. This dark zone is intrinsic to the material and is one of the geological features that makes this individual stone distinctive. The end caps are vivid warm terracotta-red, noticeably more saturated and translucent than the body, high-gloss, and clearly differentiated from the darker body ground in every photograph.

The etching across all four faces is cream-white and heavily mineralised — the granular, rough-edged texture of genuine acid-etching is clearly visible at macro resolution in Images 6 through 10.

Chip disclosure — full. One end cap carries a noticeable concave impact chip, removing a crescent-shaped section from the right side of the tip. The chip is documented in four dedicated photographs (Images 6, 7, 8, and 9). At macro resolution (Images 8 and 9) the chip's full extent is clear: it does not reach the drill hole, does not penetrate the body of the bead, and the edges are smooth and rounded — consistent with old impact damage that has aged in place rather than recent breakage. The drill hole at the chipped end remains clean, centred, and fully functional. The opposite end cap (Image 10) is completely intact. The chip affects the geometry of one end cap tip and is priced accordingly; it does not affect the motif field, the structural integrity of the bead, or either drill passage.

This bead is distinguished from every other carnelian dzi in the collection by its combined three-motif vocabulary: no other piece carries circular eye, tiger tooth wave, and star elements simultaneously. The Two Eye Tiger Tooth Dzi (At-071322-3ETT) carries eyes and tiger stripe in a unified surface field without stars; the Three Diamond Eye (At-053126-3DETT) carries angular diamond eyes without wave elements or stars. This bead's four distinct face compositions — eye, tooth, star, and the symmetrical bowtie — make it the most narratively complex carnelian dzi listed here.

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The Two Eye, Tiger Tooth & Stars (二眼虎牙星 / Èr Yǎn Hǔyá Xīng) Motif

In Tibetan dzi tradition, each of the three motifs on this bead carries its own protective function. The two eyes (二眼 / èr yǎn) watch outward in two directions simultaneously — deflecting harmful energy and returning an unwanted gaze to its source, while carrying the paired meaning of harmony, relationship, and connection between the self and others. The tiger tooth (虎牙 / hǔyá) brings the concentrated force of the predator: strength, decisiveness, the authority that does not need to announce itself. The stars (星 / xīng) in the dzi tradition point toward illumination, guidance, and the kind of clarity that allows the wearer to navigate uncertainty. In a combined motif bead, these energies are understood not as separate channels but as a single protective field: the watchfulness of the eye, the strength of the tooth, and the guidance of the stars, held together in one object that must be turned to be fully known.

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Specifications

Motif: Two Eye, Tiger Tooth & Stars (二眼虎牙星 / Èr Yǎn Hǔyá Xīng); two circular eyes on opposite faces; tiger tooth wave fill on all faces; solid dot star pairs on Faces B and D; double vertical stripe dividers framing all faces
Length: 52.2mm
Diameter: 15.1mm
Form: Elongated fusiform; vivid terracotta-red end caps; widest at centre; symmetrical bilateral taper
Material: Natural carnelian — warm terracotta-red to dark reddish-brown body; natural dark grey-brown agate banding zone at Face A eye area; vivid terracotta-red translucent end caps; cream-white acid-etched motif lines throughout
Age Estimate: 200–500 years
Condition: ⚠️ Noticeable concave impact chip at right end cap tip — crescent-shaped, old and smooth-edged, does not reach drill hole, does not affect body or motif field, fully documented in Images 6–9. Faint surface hairline on left end cap (not structural). No rework. No medicine digs.
Bloodspots: None observed
Product ID: At-061426-2ETTSt
Collection: Antique Carnelian Dzi | Antique Dzi Beads

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• Antique Three Diamond Eye & Tiger Tooth Carnelian Dzi (At-053126-3DETT) — angular diamond eyes, terracotta-red ground, compact barrel, 27.2×13.6mm
• Ancient Twenty Stars Carnelian Dzi (Ac-030625-20S) — star-only composition, twenty solid star dots in framed rectangular bands, octagonal, 500–1,000 years
• Antique Tiger Tooth & Stripe Carnelian Dzi (At-040524-TTStr) — pure tiger tooth and stripe composition, tri-tone dark ground, dense repeating register, 49.8×12.7mm
• Ancient Double Diamond Eye-in-Eye Carnelian Dzi (Ac-030623-DDIE) — six-faced hexagonal form, diamond-in-diamond, 500–1,000 years

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From the blog

• What Makes a Dzi Bead Authentic? — on acid-etching, surface mineralisation, and reading age in carnelian dzi
• The Meaning of the Eye Motif in Tibetan Dzi Tradition — on the eye, the tiger tooth, and the combined protective logic of multi-motif dzi beads

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Four faces. Two eyes that are never on the same face. One stone that takes a full rotation to read.

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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