Chinese Toggle Depicting Smiling Monk

A milky white pebble with a figure with a tiny cub emerging from the surface.

This toggle depicting smiling monk is from China. 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. The oval form is carved in high relief with a rounded, huddled creature and a smaller form curled against it. The stone is a translucent, milk-white with a soft, glossy polish and smoothly rounded edges. It is 1.2 inches long, 0.25 deep and 1.6 high.

A soft, sweet little thing with a surprising amount going on.