Chinese Toggle Depicting Shoes

Broad, flat-bottomed pair with oval openings and a notched gap between the toes.

This toggle depicting shoes is from China, and dates to the 19th century. It is wood. Wood is a lighter and warmer material than jade for toggles, and carvers shaped it with small tools into compact forms that sit comfortably in the hand. Side by side, two long, rounded shoe forms joined as one oblong body, with large open hollows on top. The toes end in tidy curled scrolls outlined with grooves. Reddish-brown color covers the sides, and a small notch breaks the divider between the hollows. It is 1 inches wide, 1.25 deep and 0.5 high.

Roomy, symmetrical, and just a little chipped for character.