Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, 49.1 × 12.8mm, warm honey-brown agate, tip damage disclosed (Ac-041320-7SChung)

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

Condition note: this bead has damage at both pointed tips — a more significant break at the right tip and moderate damage at the left. Both are shown in Images 3, 6 and 7. Please review all photos before purchasing.

What sets this seven stripe Chung dzi apart is its ground — and here the ground is warm.

Compared with the near-black, opaque body of our seven stripe Ac-081020-7SChung, this agate is a warm honey-brown to grey-brown and semi-translucent. Toward the ends (Images 4 and 7) the stone glows from within, letting light through rather than absorbing it. The result reads warmer, lighter and more open — the same tradition in a very different stone.

The seven stripes are sandy-tan to sandy-grey with a granular texture. Between them the body has been darkened to near-black, creating the classic Chung contrast of light stripes on dark bands, while the natural agate at the ends is the warmest and lightest tone of all. The shift from honey-brown tip to dark band to sandy stripe gives the bead a layered, tonal quality all its own.

Faces A and C (Images 2 and 4) read warmest; Face D (Image 5) is slightly cooler and greyer. All four faces show the same seven stripe composition.

The surface mixes surviving original polish on the harder areas with a matte, textured patina on the softer ones. A natural surface dig is visible in the lower part of Face A (Image 2); it is not structural.

Tip damage in detail: the right tip (Images 3 and 6) is missing material at the point, with rough interior agate exposed; the drill hole there is intact and usable. The left tip (Image 7) has moderate damage with an irregular edge; its drill hole is clearly visible, with a warm reddish-orange interior. Neither affects the body, the stripes or either drill passage, and both breaks are old and smoothly worn.

The Seven Stripe Chung Dzi

The Chung dzi (瓊珠) is the striped family of the dzi tradition, defined by horizontal bands on natural agate. The stripe is the line that does not end — the path that holds its direction — here wrapped seven times around the bead. With Chung dzi, more stripes do not make a bead more powerful; the right bead is simply the one whose look speaks to its owner. Learn more in our Chung dzi guide.

Specifications

• Motif: Seven stripe Chung (七條瓊珠); sandy-tan to sandy-grey stripes with darkened bands between
• Length: 49.1mm
• Diameter: 12.8mm
• Form: Elongated fusiform, widest at the centre; both pointed tips damaged
• Material: Natural agate, warm honey-brown to grey-brown and semi-translucent
• Age: Ancient, estimated 1,000–1,500 years
• Condition: Significant old break at the right tip and moderate damage at the left tip, both drill holes intact (Images 3, 6, 7); natural surface dig on Face A (Image 2); no body cracks or medicine digs
• Bloodspots: None observed
• Product ID: Ac-041320-7SChung
• Collection: Ancient Dzi Beads | Chung Dzi

You May Also Like

• Ancient Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, Near-Black (Ac-081020-7SChung)
• Ancient Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, Dark Brown (Ac-080620-7SChung)
• Ancient Seven Stripe Chung Dzi, Grey-Black (Ac-101922-7SChung)
• Ancient Five Stripe Cho Dzi (Ac-061426-5SChung)
• Antique Nine Stripe Chung Dzi with Bloodspots (At-110223-9SBS)
• Antique Five Stripe Chung Dzi, Terracotta (At-070622-5SChung)
• Vintage Seven Stripe Chung Dzi (V-052222-7SChung)

Further Reading

• Chung Dzi Meaning: The Striped Dzi Guide
• Real vs Fake Dzi Beads: The Collector's Guide

Seven stripes on a stone that lets the light through — the same ancient tradition, in a completely different stone.