Chinese Toggle Depicting Seated Buddha

Chalky white seated figure keeps calm with hands cupped low and a small round object.

This toggle depicting seated Buddha is from China, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is jade. Many toggles carried auspicious symbols drawn from wordplay, so a monkey, whose word can sound like the word for Marquis, suggested high rank, and a carp suggested success in civil service examinations. Matte and chalky white, the seated Buddha has a gentle smile and a rounded topknot. The hands rest in the lap beneath the folded robe. Layered knees and pleats spread out along the base in rounded folds, and the surface is lightly frosted. It is 1.5 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 2.5 high.

Serene, silent, and unbothered by any amount of looking.