Chinese Toggle with Archaic Motif

Square piece with pinched corners wraps scrolls around a perfectly round hole.

This toggle with archaic motif is from China, and dates to the 19th century. It is jade. The dragon is a popular toggle motif symbolizing wisdom, ambition and prosperity, a five-clawed version represented the emperor, and a dragon with a phoenix suggested marriage and was a wedding gift. Four raised corner points shape this pale, creamy square, with a clean round opening at the center. Soft scrolls and comma shapes curl across the face in shallow relief. The surface is slightly frosted, with a gentle polish at the edges. It is 2 inches deep and 2 high.

Geometry and curls, together at last and getting along nicely.