Tiger Tooth Motif, 22.1×18.3mm, cream-white and brown agate (V-062926-TT)

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

Turn this bead and the cream and brown trade places — the face that reads as dark is the same face that reads as pale from the other side.

This is a 1980s Taiwan vintage round dzi bead in natural agate — cream-white dominant ground with deep chocolate-brown to warm olive-brown tiger tooth banding. The colour relationship here is the inverse of the usual tiger tooth presentation: the cream-white is not a stripe or accent, it is the primary field of the bead, and the dark banding moves across it in diagonal chevron and band forms. From one rotation the bead appears predominantly pale; shift it 90 degrees and the brown reads as dominant. The same surface holds both readings simultaneously.

The tiger tooth motif is present across the full surface. Viewed from the front face, the banding resolves into a clear chevron or bat-wing form at the upper register, with two broad brown bands sweeping below it, separated by a cream-white horizontal stripe. Rotate the bead and the chevron dissolves into a flowing dark zone, with the cream breaking through as bold stripes from a new angle. From the drill-end views, the banding wraps in diagonal arcs across the surface, with the cream-white field expanding to nearly fill the visible face before the brown bands re-enter from the edges. No two rotations give the same composition.

The surface carries 40+ years of genuine wear. The cream-white zones show fine natural micro-crackle and minor age-consistent brown staining within the stone — not damage, but the lived surface texture of agate that has been handled and aged over decades. The brown banding retains a soft, worn gloss. The crown is organically irregular rather than a perfect dome, consistent with the hand-crafted character of 1980s Taiwan production. The drilling is standard and clean, surrounded by cream-white agate at both ends. No cracks or chips are present — this is my own observation across all five photo angles.

The Tiger Tooth Motif

The tiger tooth (tasso) is one of the foundational dzi motifs, associated with the protective strength and 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 fortitude. Taiwan dzi production of the 1970s–80s maintained the same symbolic traditions as their Tibetan antecedents, crafting the tiger tooth form in natural agate with careful attention to the motif's proportions.

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Motif: Tiger Tooth (Tasso)
Length: 22.1mm
Diameter: 18.3mm
Form: Round / ovoid — organic irregular crown, consistent with 1980s Taiwan production
Material: Agate
Age Estimate: Vintage — 1980s Taiwan, approximately 40+ years old
Condition: No cracks or chips. Fine natural micro-crackle and minor age-consistent staining in cream zones — surface character of the stone, not damage. This is my own observation from all photo angles.
Bloodspots: None
Product ID: V-062926-TT
Collection: Vintage Dzi

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Its companion piece

For a 1980s Taiwan vintage pair in the same cream-white ground tradition, see the Vintage Double Tiger Tooth Motif Dzi Pair (V-041122-DTT) — cream-white ground, chocolate-brown motif, same crafting era.

Other tiger tooth dzi in the shop

For an antique round tiger tooth pair with bloodspots, see At-062926-TTBS — 100–300 years, warm terracotta ground.

For an antique round wave & tiger tooth bead, see At-111325-WTT — 200–400 years, dark ground.

For an ancient round tiger tooth bead, see Ac-021724-TT — 500+ years, cool grey-brown agate.

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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: Five unretouched product images, white background, multiple rotations including drill-end views.

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