Chinese Toggle with Yin Yang Motif

Cream round marked like a tiny pumpkin, with a hole at its center.

This toggle with yin yang motif is from China, and dates to the 19th 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. Deeply incised lines divide this domed disc into segments that run from a central hole to the rim. The body is warm cream with reddish brown staining along each groove. The edge is scalloped and the surface is smoothly polished. It is 0.5 inches wide, 1.5 deep and 1.5 high.

Cheerful, round and slightly tempted to roll away.