Tiger Tooth Motif Pair, 20.3×14.7mm & 20.5×14.7mm, warm terracotta agate with bloodspots (At-062926-TTBS)

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

These two beads carry the same motif on the same warm ground, and the tiger tooth reads as a completely different composition on each one.

Both beads are natural agate in a warm terracotta to dusty rose-tan ground, with deep chocolate-brown to near-black tiger tooth banding. The ground colour is consistent across the pair, a muted, earthy warm tone with a slight chalky softness in the lighter zones between the bands. What separates them is contrast: the banding on Bead A is darker and more sharply defined, while on Bead B the same motif reads softer and more diffuse against a marginally deeper reddish-brown ground.

Bead A (left in pair shots): The tiger tooth banding is deep, near-black to dark chocolate-brown, high contrast against the warm terracotta ground. The bands are crisply edged and read with strong definition from every angle. The crown has a faceted profile, a multifaceted cut at the apex that gives the bead a slightly angular silhouette rather than a smooth dome, visible in the crown-up shots. This is a feature of the form, not a flaw.

Bead B (right in pair shots): The same warm terracotta-to-reddish-brown ground, but the banding is a softer dark brown, with lower contrast between band and ground, giving the motif a more integrated look. Bead B's crown has the same multifaceted cut.

On these ovoid beads, the tiger tooth banding wraps the full surface without interruption. Because there is no fixed axis, the diagonal bands shift continuously as the bead is turned: a downward-sweeping chevron from one face becomes a rising arc from another. Images 3 through 7 show multiple rotations of both beads.

The macro photo (Image 2) shows the bloodspots at close range. The cream-to-pale-peach zone shows a dense field of fine warm gold-brown to russet-orange micro-dots, small and tightly packed, concentrated at the centre with scatter outward toward the edges. These are natural cinnabar (硃砂, zhūshā) inclusions within the agate. No cracks or chips are visible from any of the six photo angles.

The Tiger Tooth Motif

The tiger tooth (tasso) is one of the foundational dzi motifs, representing the protective power and grounded courage of the tiger, one of the Four Dignities in Tibetan tradition. The bold diagonal banding is believed to guard the wearer and lend inner strength. At 100–300 years of age, these beads have passed through several generations of wearers before reaching this collection. Read more in Dzi Motifs and Their Interpretations.

Specifications

• Motif: Tiger Tooth (Tasso)
• Length: Bead A: 20.3mm / Bead B: 20.5mm
• Diameter: Bead A: 14.7mm / Bead B: 14.7mm
• Form: Ovoid / round pair with multifaceted crown profile
• Material: Natural agate
• Age estimate: Antique, 100–300 years
• Condition: No cracks or chips. The multifaceted crown is a feature of the original cut, not damage.
• Bloodspots: Prominent; warm gold-brown to russet-orange natural cinnabar micro-dots in the cream zones, shown in macro
• Product ID: At-062926-TTBS
• Collections: Antique Dzi | Pairs & Sets | Round Beads

Other Tiger Tooth Dzi

• Antique Round Double Wave Dzi Bead
• Ancient Round Tiger Tooth Dzi Bead, cool grey-brown agate
• New Pair of Round Tiger Tooth Dzi Beads with Extreme Bloodspots
• New Round Tiger Tooth Dzi Bead, red tint

From the blog

• Bloodspots in Dzi Beads
• How to Combine Dzi Bead Motifs

Every bead at Ancient Dzi Shop is described and photographed without retouching, so what you see is exactly what you receive.

Photos: six unretouched images including a macro bloodspot shot, pair rotations, and drill-end views on a white background.