Chinese Toggle Depicting Guangung

Bearded figure in armor sits in a caramel-orange block, one hand on a long weapon.

This toggle depicting guangung 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. Cut in deep relief from a single warm orange-brown block, the seated, robed warrior has a long beard, tall headgear and patterned armor. A long staff-like blade runs down his side. Small holes pierce the upper area. The surface is matte and dense. It is 1.5 inches wide, 0.25 deep and 2.5 high.

Stern, well-armed and the colour of a good toffee.