Antique Qing Dynasty Southern Red Agate - Pumpkin Bead Shape - Style C - 12.03 grams

Late December 2023. An antique dealer brought back Qing Dynasty Southern Red Agate from overseas. These ancient beads are priced by gram in foreign markets. The dealer mentioned that for pieces in good condition, prices start at NT$800 per gram. This batch brought back to Taiwan... the condition is average, so the price certainly couldn't reach NT$800 per gram..... As a result, due to the average condition and the sluggish economy in Taiwan, very few were sold.... The dealer was under immense pressure.... In March 2024, someone who had some spare cash to repay a debt... acquired a few pieces... In Taiwan, when I see antique Southern Red Agate, I often used to see it as spacer beads on Tibetan Buddhist prayer beads 20-30 years ago... Later, after mainland Chinese collectors aggressively bought and drove up prices... it became less common to see antique Southern Red Agate used as decorative spacer beads on prayer beads. Often, they would be dismantled and sold individually... The "Old High White" (which refers to antique ivory) three-hole prayer bead heads commonly seen in mainland China are often those dismantled from a full strand of prayer beads and sold separately... This Qing Dynasty antique Southern Red Agate - Pumpkin Bead weighs 12.03 grams.