Nine Eye Dzi with Cinnabar Bloodspots, 41.3×14.5mm, Pitch-Black Agate (At-061926-9E6BS)

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

The bloodspots on this bead appear in two different places, and they look completely different in each one.

In the cream-white zones, the eye rings and connecting bands, the cinnabar reads as warm rust-orange to terracotta-orange micro-speckles, scattered across and just beneath the surface, visible to the naked eye and shown in the first macro photograph (Image 6). In the pitch-black ground, the same mineral looks different: in the second macro photograph (Image 7), small dark red-brown halos are visible within the black, natural inclusions seen from inside the stone rather than sitting on its surface. One mineral, two looks, one bead. That combination is unusual among the nine eye dzi in this collection.

The nine eyes are distributed across the two main faces, three in the upper register and two in the lower, connected by a continuous stepped S-meander running through the composition in angular, right-angled turns. Each eye is a fully closed concentric ring: bold cream-white outer ring, pitch-black interior, warm dark brown pupil at the centre. The meander is not a smooth wave but a stepped, angular line that reads almost architectural. The composition on Face B (Image 2) differs slightly from Face A in its central eye, consistent with hand-applied etching that never repeats exactly.

The ground of this bead is pitch-black in all the flat-lit white-background photographs, and the motif lines are bright cream-white throughout. The end caps at both tips are warm sandy-tan, lighter than the body and warmer than the etching, giving a three-tone sequence from tip to field to motif. The drill holes at both tips are small, neat, and well-centred, with warm reddish-brown interiors visible in the angled photographs.

At 41.3×14.5mm, this is one of the most compact nine eye dzi in the collection and among the widest. Most antique nine eye beads here are over 50mm long; this one is shorter and wider, so the motif wraps more tightly across a broader surface and the eyes occupy more of each face. The composition reads denser and more frontal.

At macro scale, a fine network of weathering lines is visible within the cream-white etching zones. This is not structural damage but surface weathering of the etched layer over two to three centuries. A single surface pinhole is also visible near the upper edge of Face B (Image 2). Both are disclosed.

The Nine Eye Motif

The nine eye motif (九眼天珠, jiǔ yǎn tiānzhū) is among the most revered forms in Tibetan dzi tradition, known as the King of All Dzi. Nine is considered the number of completion, the highest single digit. A nine eye dzi is understood to attract good fortune, remove obstacles, and offer the wearer protection from every direction. Read more in Why the Nine Eye Dzi Is the King of All Dzi.

The cinnabar inclusions (硃砂, zhūshā) in this bead carry their own significance; cinnabar has long been used in ritual contexts across Himalayan and Chinese Buddhist practice. In a dzi it occurs as a natural inclusion within the stone. It cannot be added after the bead is made, and it is prized for its auspicious associations, though bloodspots also occur in new beads and are not proof of age on their own. Learn more in our guide to bloodspots in dzi beads.

Specifications

• Motif: Nine Eye (九眼天珠); fully closed concentric ring eyes in a 3+2 upper-lower layout per face; continuous stepped S-meander connecting all eyes
• Length: 41.3mm
• Diameter: 14.5mm
• Form: Compact oval barrel
• Material: Natural agate; pitch-black ground; bright cream-white motif lines; warm sandy-tan end caps
• Age estimate: Antique, 200–300 years
• Condition: Semi-gloss surface with age micro-texture; fine weathering lines in the cream-white etching at macro scale (non-structural); single surface pinhole on Face B, disclosed; both drill holes small and neat
• Bloodspots: Yes, in two forms: warm rust-orange micro-speckles in the cream-white eye rings and bands (Image 6), and dark red-brown cinnabar halos within the pitch-black ground (Image 7)
• Product ID: At-061926-9E6BS
• Collections: Antique Dzi Beads | Bloodspot Dzi

Related Nine Eye Dzi

Ancient nine eye dzi

• Ancient Nine Eye Dzi, 53.8mm, dark brown agate, 500–800 years
• Ancient Nine Eye Dzi, 54.0mm, cream-white agate, 800 years

Antique nine eye dzi

• Antique Nine Eye Dzi with Bloodspots, 48.8mm
• Antique Nine Eye Dzi with Bloodspots, 77.0mm
• Antique Nine Eye Dzi with Bloodspots, 42.2mm (sister bead)
• Antique Nine Eye Dzi, 54.8mm, warm dark brown agate
• Antique Nine Eye Dzi, 54.2mm, medicine dig
• Antique Nine Eye Dzi, 54.8mm, very dark brown agate

New nine eye dzi

• New Nine Eye Dzi, 57.7mm, grey-black agate
• New Nine Eye Dzi, 58.6mm, warm brown agate
• New Nine Eye Dzi with Bloodspots, blue-grey etching

Companion motifs

• Antique Five Eye Dzi, two blue-tint eyes
• Antique Five Eye Kubera Dzi, pitch-black agate
• Antique Eight Eye Dzi, 50.3mm, very dark brown agate
• Antique Eight Eye Dzi, 53.4mm, deep warm dark brown agate

For ideas on wearing several motifs together, see How to Combine Dzi Bead Motifs.

Nine eyes, two kinds of bloodspot, one bead compact enough to hold in a closed fist, and old enough to have been carried for two centuries.

We never retouch our photos. Every bead is photographed exactly as it is. What you see is what you receive.