Double Longevity Motif Dzi Bead with Bloodspots, 34.9×12.6mm, Cream-White Agate (V-092824-DLBS)

Authenticity guaranteed — every piece hand-inspected and accurately described. All photos below are unretouched, taken against a plain white background to show this bead's true colour and condition.

On this bead the dark zones don't form the ground — they are shapes held within a cream-white field that covers most of every face.

This is a genuine vintage Taiwan dzi, produced in the 1980s and finished in high-quality natural agate. The colour relationship here is the inverse of what you see in most dzi: cream-white is the dominant field, and the pitch-black zones float within it as enclosed, irregular shapes rather than forming the surrounding ground. Confirmed from flat-lit white-background photography across all four faces, the cream coverage is consistent and broad — the dark reads as figure, not ground. Both drilled end tips carry the characteristic warm brown tone at the tip where the stone meets the drill, consistent with agate's natural internal colour. The Double Longevity motif reads differently at every face — one orientation shows a more symmetrical dark arrangement within the cream; rotate the bead and the black shapes shift, elongate, and redistribute, never resolving the same way twice.

Surface finish is smooth and well-polished, with the high gloss characteristic of quality 1980s Taiwan production. Along the central horizontal dividing band where the two longevity compositions meet, minor surface marks are visible in the photos — small irregularities at the etching boundary line, disclosed here as found. No cracks visible in any white-background photo; this is my own finding from the images. The drill channel is standard and cleanly executed at both ends.

Bloodspots

The macro photographs document cinnabar (硃砂, zhusha — mercuric sulfide) inclusions clearly throughout this bead. The inclusions present as fine orange-rust micro-dots scattered across the cream-white motif zones — visible throughout the cream field in both macro shots, with a slightly denser concentration visible at the convergence of the central motif lines. Distribution pattern: cream-zone focused scattered. The inclusions are present across the cream work broadly, with the convergence point showing the highest local density — a pattern consistent with the cream-zone focused nature of cinnabar accumulation in these vintage Taiwan pieces.

The Double Longevity Motif

The Longevity motif — also known as the Tortoise Shell motif — is one of the most recognised patterns in the dzi tradition, associated with health, long life, and the blessings that accompany enduring vitality. The tortoise carries centuries of symbolic weight in Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist culture as a creature of longevity and stability, and a bead bearing its pattern is traditionally worn or kept as an invocation of sustained wellbeing. The double composition means both major faces carry the full motif — and on this piece, the cream-dominant colour relationship gives the pattern an unusual brightness and openness compared to the more typical dark-ground presentation.

Spec Block

• Motif: Double Longevity (Tortoise Shell / 壽字)
• Length: 34.9mm
• Diameter: 12.6mm
• Form: Barrel
• Material: Agate
• Age Estimate: Vintage — produced in Taiwan, 1980s
• Condition: Good; minor surface marks along central dividing band; no cracks observed
• Bloodspots: Tier 3 — cream-zone focused scattered; cinnabar micro-dots documented throughout cream field in macro photography, with denser concentration at central motif convergence
• Product ID: V-092824-DLBS
• Collection: Vintage Dzi

For more vintage and new pieces, browse our New & Vintage Dzi Collection.

Its companion piece: V-090924-DLBS carries the same Double Longevity motif, the same Tier 3 cinnabar bloodspots, and the same 1980s Taiwan origin — with the opposite colour relationship: dark-dominant ground with cream cells, where this piece is cream-dominant with dark floating zones. Also in the vintage bloodspot family: V-102723-6EBS, a Six Eye piece with pitch-black dominant ground and Tier 3 inclusions.

Curious about what dzi beads are and what makes them authentic? Read What Are Dzi Beads and What Makes a Dzi Bead Authentic.

A vintage Double Longevity piece with a cream-white dominant field, pitch-black floating zones, and broadly distributed cinnabar inclusions — the colour inverse of its companion piece.

Every bead backed by our authenticity guarantee and easy returns.

All photos are unretouched. White-background shots show true colour; macro shots document bloodspot inclusions at close range.

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