Chinese Toggle Depicting Two Dragons

Small dragons face each other on a pointed plate, mid-conversation.

This toggle depicting two dragons is from China, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is jade. Traditional Chinese clothing had no pockets, so people of all social classes, from rickshaw drivers to court scholars, used toggles as counterweights to help secure small bags hanging from their sashes. Incised wave lines mark a flat, shield-shaped base in grey and brown that supports two openwork dragons side by side, their heads turned inward. Their bodies are pierced and curled, in pale grey with dark patches. The lower edge ends in a point. It is 2.75 inches wide, 0.25 deep and 2.4 high.

A good argument, carried out with perfect manners.