Chinese Jade Toggle

Two curled lobes and brown streaks make this piece look like a tiny stern face.

This toggle 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. White and softly polished, the form has a broad central body and two rolled lobes curling outward at either side, each pierced with a tiny hole. Dark brown streaks fan across the front, and a larger drilled hole sits at the bottom. It is 2.25 inches deep and 1.5 high.

A strong personality in a very compact frame.