From a vendor at the Quality Inn (formerly the Rodeway), called Phoenix beads (from whom I nearly always buy some new Chinese stone beads), I bought this selection of more agates made for the "Tibetan market," that consist of stuff Tibetans never had, but that tend to fit (by design) into their traditional symbolism.

I have collected these sorts of carving for the past eight to ten years, and remain impressed by the quality of the carving, versus low cost. My goal is to string them all together and make this "Liberace visits Lhasa" necklace.

Note the two elaborate eye beads, colored a very odd medium-pale opaque chocolate brown color (above left and lower). Most of these pieces, in the recent past have either been black-&-white or carnelian—so this is a recent departure. Likewise, I had not seen the bird efigy pendant (carnelian) on the right, nor the thick round tabular (also carnelian) on the left. One side has a character (looking more Chinese than Tibetan), and the reverse has a circle in a square ("sky door" and "earth door" symbols). The lower brown piece and the smaller oval carving (above right, with a central eye) are both pierced on their opposite ends, front-to-back, rather than drilled-through like beads.

JDA.