Vintage Tiger Tooth Motif Dzi Bead with Bloodspots, 35.6×11.1mm, cream and dark dark brown agate (V-030326-TTBS)

✦ Unretouched photos. Ethically sourced. Securely packaged. ✦

On most dzi beads in this collection, the dark ground is the field and the cream lines are the motif. On this bead it is the other way around: the cream is the field, and the dark brown Tiger Tooth forms sit within it.

The result is a bead that reads as pale first. The cream zones take up the majority of the surface, wide and open, with a warm peach tone that shifts slightly in different lighting. The two Tiger Tooth forms, paired dark brown curves facing each other across the central zone, sit as focal points within that pale ground rather than as breaks in a dark surface. At the ends, dark brown plain stripes frame the composition. Rotate the bead a quarter-turn and the tooth forms reduce to dark fins or arcs, the cream reading as an even broader band; rotate again and the bead is almost entirely pale, the dark motif visible only at the upper edge of the frame.

The surface is high-gloss on the dark zones, with the cream carrying a slightly warmer, softer character under the same light.

This bead was crafted in Taiwan in the 1980s using the traditional dzi crafting technique, the same method of etching natural agate used for ancient dzi.

No structural cracks are visible in the photos. Under macro magnification, Image 7 shows a very fine hair-like line on one of the cream zones. This appears to be a superficial surface scratch rather than a structural crack, but it is disclosed here so you have a complete picture of the bead's surface condition.

Bloodspot (Cinnabar / 硃砂 / Zhusha) Detail

Both macro photos document natural cinnabar inclusions held within the cream zones of the agate. They appear as scattered reddish-orange to warm russet speckling, individual dots visible throughout the cream field, with some concentration near the boundary where cream meets dark brown. On a cream-ground bead the colour is particularly visible, the warm russet tones reading clearly against the pale background. Learn more in our guide to bloodspots in dzi beads.

The Tiger Tooth Motif

The Tiger Tooth (sometimes called Tasso or Horse Teeth in Tibetan tradition) is one of the oldest recurring motifs in dzi bead culture. Its paired, curved forms have been interpreted in different traditions as tiger's fangs, horse teeth, and cresting waves. The motif's ambiguity is part of its long history, with different communities reading different meanings into the same visual language. Across traditions, it is associated with strength, protection, and the power to overcome obstacles. The tiger's authority in Tibetan symbolism is specific: not aggressive dominance, but the kind of grounded, unhurried force that does not need to announce itself. Wearers of the Tiger Tooth dzi traditionally sought that quality, resilience and quiet confidence in the face of difficulty, and the paired composition of two facing teeth is understood to double and balance that protective force.

Specifications

• Motif: Tiger Tooth (Tasso / Horse Teeth)
• Length: 35.6mm
• Diameter: 11.1mm
• Form: Barrel
• Material: Natural agate
• Age estimate: Vintage, crafted in Taiwan in the 1980s using the traditional technique
• Condition: No structural cracks. Superficial hair-like surface scratch visible on a cream zone under macro (Image 7), disclosed.
• Bloodspots: Prominent. Reddish-orange to warm russet natural cinnabar inclusions scattered throughout the cream zones, concentrated at the cream-dark boundaries. Macro-documented.
• Product ID: V-030326-TTBS
• Collections: New & Vintage Dzi | Taiwan Dzi | Bloodspot Dzi

You may also like

• Vintage Double Tiger Tooth Pair
• Vintage Round Tiger Tooth Bead

Looking for an antique Tiger Tooth? See the antique tasso pieces:

• Antique Tiger Tooth Tasso Dzi with Bloodspots
• Antique Tasso Dzi, Bloodspot Constellation
• Antique Tasso Dzi with Bloodspots, Deep Brown

From the blog

• Taiwan Dzi Beads: The Vintage 1980s Guide
• Bloodspots in Dzi Beads
• Where Do Dzi Beads Come From?

Each bead at Ancient Dzi Shop is ethically sourced and listed with unretouched photos so you see exactly what you are receiving.

✦ Unretouched photos. Ethically sourced. Securely packaged. ✦

Photos: 7 unretouched product images: three body rotation views, two angled end shots, two macro detail shots documenting cinnabar inclusions and surface condition.