Antique Two Eye & Treasure Vase Dzi Bead, 30.2 × 10.9mm, dark brown agate fusiform (At-062226-2ETV2)

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

The pale end caps on this bead are not the same colour as the motif lines, and that difference is worth looking at carefully.

The body of this bead is a deep, complex dark brown, not uniform, shifting between a warmer dark brown and a slightly cooler dark grey-brown depending on face and lighting, as agate does when its own banding shows beneath the etched surface. Against that ground, the motif lines read as bright white to warm cream, crisp and high-contrast. The end caps, by contrast, are a warm peachy-cream, paler and softer than the motif lines, with a smooth rounded form tapering toward the drill hole. Bright white motif, peachy-cream end caps, dark ground: this is a three-tone bead.

The form is an elongated fusiform, 30.2mm long and 10.9mm in diameter, tapering toward both ends, a little more sharply at one end (Images 5 and 6). The surface is smooth with a semi-gloss finish, consistent with age and long wear. No cracks or chips are visible in any photograph. A few fine surface marks from centuries of handling are visible up close, none structural.

The motif is a Two Eye and Treasure Vase combination across the two main faces. Face A (Images 1 and 3) presents one fully closed concentric ring eye, a white outer ring around a dark brown zone with a darker central pupil, alongside a treasure vase in the same bright white lines: a rounded body narrowing to a distinct neck with a flaring shoulder above. Face B (Images 2 and 4) carries the second eye and the continuation of the vase, the lines slightly more compressed as the body narrows. The end views (Images 5 and 6) show the vase shoulder and neck curving into the body from each end, with both drill holes intact within the peachy-cream end caps.

Light natural cinnabar inclusions are present within this bead, visible in Images 1 and 3 as faint speckling: not prominent and not concentrated, but disclosed here.

The Two Eye and Treasure Vase Motif

The Two Eye motif (二眼天珠) is among the most widely collected dzi forms, associated in Tibetan tradition with harmony and with the union of wisdom and compassion. The Treasure Vase (寶瓶, bǎopíng) is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism, representing inexhaustible abundance, a vessel whose contents never run out, associated with the fulfilment of wishes. Together they combine protective vision with the promise of abundance. Read more in The Two Eye Dzi Bead: Symbolism and Significance.

Specifications

• Motif: Two Eye and Treasure Vase (二眼天珠 & 寶瓶); closed concentric ring eyes with treasure vase forms; bright white motif lines
• Length: 30.2mm
• Diameter: 10.9mm
• Form: Elongated fusiform, tapering toward both ends
• Material: Natural agate; deep complex dark brown ground; bright white motif lines; warm peachy-cream end caps
• Age estimate: Antique, 200–300 years
• Condition: No cracks or chips; smooth semi-gloss surface; fine handling marks; both drill holes intact
• Bloodspots: Light natural cinnabar inclusions (Images 1 and 3); not a defining feature
• Product ID: At-062226-2ETV2
• Collection: Antique Dzi Beads

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From the blog

• The Two Eye Dzi Bead: Symbolism and Significance
• Dzi Motifs and Their Interpretations
• How to Tell Real vs. Fake Dzi Beads

Two eyes, one vase, and end caps that are neither white nor ground: a third colour this bead keeps to itself.

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