Chinese Jade Toggle Bead

A thick ring covered in a web of rusty brown crazing.

This toggle bead 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. A wide, flat disc with a large round hole, its surface covered in a network of fine reddish-brown lines over a pale base. The edges are rounded and the polish is soft. It is 2 inches in diameter.

A perfect circle with a thoroughly lived-in face.