Chinese Toggle Depicting Archaic Blade

Long, tapering blade in honey and grey carries faint lines like a pencil sketch.

This toggle depicting archaic blade is from China, and dates to the 19th century. It is incised 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. Wider at the bottom, this flat elongated trapezoid has a small drilled hole near the narrow top. The color moves from honey-gold to soft grey-green. Very fine incised lines trace an outline down the face. The edges are smooth and softly rounded. It is 1 inches deep and 3 high.

Sleek, minimal and rather good at keeping secrets.