Chinese Toggle Depicting Rooster

A crouching rooster in cream with a blush-red comb and open beak.

This toggle depicting rooster is from China. 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. The bird sits with folded legs, a serrated comb and a gaping beak tinted russet. Shallow incised lines trace the wing and breast feathers. The stone is a warm cream, smooth and softly polished, with a slight pink flush at the head. It is 2 inches long, 0.5 deep and 1.75 high.

Mid-crow, and absolutely unembarrassed about it.