Chinese Toggle Depicting Resting Rat

Long, low creature stretches flat in mossy green with its nose just lifted.

This toggle depicting resting rat is from China, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th 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. Dusky celadon and sleek, the recumbent animal stretches along the ground with legs folded and a rounded head raised at one end. The back dips and rises in a gentle curve. Dark flecks run through the body, and the polish is smooth. It is 2.5 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 0.75 high.

Resting like a professional, from nose to tail.