Modern Reproduction Antique-style White Tiger Tooth & Stripes Motif Dzi Bead (V-FA-062026-TTSW)

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

This bead is vintage, not antique. Crafted before the year 2000 with a deliberate antique-style finish, it has since picked up over two decades of its own genuine age — and we want that distinction clear from the first line.

This piece shares its ground colour and surface character with V-FA-062026-TESW, our white Tiger Stripes, Eyes & Stars bead — same crackled cream-white finish, same dark brown chevron palette — but carries a simpler, more concentrated composition: alternating bands of tiger tooth and stripes only, with no eye or star elements interrupting the rhythm. Six rows of tiger-tooth chevrons run the full length of the bead, divided by seven vertical stripe bands.

The ground colour is the same fine, crackled cream-white seen across our white-ground family, with a consistent network of natural surface crazing visible across every face we photographed. The motif is rendered in dark brown, with sharp, continuous V-chevron points forming an unbroken zigzag band the length of the bead — a tighter, more repetitive rhythm than the combination motif on its sister piece, since there's no eye or star element to break the pattern.

In the interest of full disclosure, two small details are worth naming directly. First, one small reddish-tan fleck is visible in the cream field on one face — likely a natural mineral inclusion in the agate, though we can't determine its origin with certainty from photographs alone. Second, one end cap shows a small area of surface texture or light wear immediately adjacent to the drill opening, not mirrored on the opposite end. Neither detail affects the integrity of the bead, but we're naming both rather than letting a general "good condition" description stand in for specifics.

We're disclosing all of this the same way we disclose the bead's overall age category: directly. This is not a centuries-old antique dzi. It was made with that visual tradition in mind, sometime before 2000, and what you're buying today is a piece that has now genuinely aged for twenty-plus years past its original finishing — different from both a brand-new reproduction and from a verified antique with documented centuries of provenance.

In terms of form, the bead is an elongated barrel with gently tapered ends, close in proportion to its sister piece. Both drill openings are otherwise clean and round. No bloodspot inclusions are visible anywhere in this photo set.

The Tiger Tooth & Stripes Motif

In Tibetan dzi tradition, the tiger tooth motif — read here as the chevron register running the length of the bead — is traditionally associated with strength and courage. The stripe motif, dividing the chevron bands into discrete sections, is traditionally linked to enduring, uninterrupted success. Together, the two elements are read as a single sustained statement rather than two separate ideas: strength carried forward without interruption.

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Spec Block

Motif: Tiger Tooth & Stripes (虎牙紋天珠) — six rows of continuous V-chevron tiger tooth, seven vertical stripe dividers Length: 51.6mm Diameter: 12.8mm Form: Elongated barrel, gently tapered ends Material: Natural agate; crackled cream-white ground; dark brown motif lines Age Estimate: Crafted before 2000 — vintage reproduction; not a genuine antique Condition: Fine, even surface crackle across the cream ground (a consistent surface characteristic, not damage); one small reddish-tan fleck visible in the cream field on one face, likely a natural inclusion; one end cap shows a small area of surface texture/light wear adjacent to the drill opening, not present on the opposite end; both drill openings otherwise clean and round Bloodspots: None Product ID: V-FA-062026-TTSW Collection: Vintage Dzi Beads, Tiger Tooth Dzi

Looking for the genuine article? We don't currently carry a genuine antique or ancient comparable for this specific motif. Browse our Antique Dzi Beads and Ancient Dzi Beads collections for related tiger-stripe pieces.

Its companion piece(s): This bead is the sister piece to V-FA-062026-TESW — same maker, same crackled cream-white ground, same chevron palette, with a simpler tiger-tooth-and-stripes-only composition rather than the combination eyes-and-stars motif.

Learn more:

• Understanding Dzi Motifs in Tibetan Buddhist Tradition
• Antique, Ancient, Vintage, and New: How We Grade Our Dzi Beads

The rhythm never breaks here — no eye, no star, just tooth and stripe, end to end.

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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