Chinese Toggle Depicting Shoe

A tiny carved slipper with a cutaway heel and a toe covered in foliage.

This wooden toggle depicting a shoe is from China, and dates to the 19th century. It is wood. Toggles were worn at the sash to anchor a cord that held a pouch or small tool, and they were often carved as small objects of daily life. Shoe-shaped vessel with an open hollow at the back and a sloped, carved toe. Dense relief of flowers, leaves and dotted details covers the surface, and the color is a muted reddish brown. It is 1.25 inches wide, 4 deep and 1.5 high.

Nothing about its shape suggests walking, and that is fine.