Chinese Toggle Depicting Two Monkeys

Small monkeys lean close together, one resting its head on the other.

This toggle depicting two monkeys is from China, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is jade. Toggles originally worn for practical use later became valued gifts and artworks, and the article notes that the netsuke of Japan, a similar counterweight for kimono sashes, originated with Chinese toggles. Smooth and milky white, this compact upright group has one figure leaning on the other, both with round heads and simple incised faces. A small hole pierces the upper left. The carving is soft and rounded, and the base is flat. It is 1.5 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 2 high.

Cuddled up, content and entirely unsupervised.