Chinese belt toggles called 'zhuizi' are small carved ornaments used as counterweights on the cords of pipe bags and other small bags which were usually hung on men's belts.

Chinese clothes were not well provided with pockets, so bags which could be suspended from a belt were useful articles of attire. In order to fulfil its primary purpose of securing things to a belt, a toggle must have what the Chinese called a 'string eye', which could pass a string or cord.

Toggle wearing disappeared from China in the 1940s, when western style clothing replaced traditional clothing.

This dress toggle was made in China between 1700-1940. This figure is called Liu Hai and is one a very popular toggle divinity in China. He is shown as a youthful figure, holding the end of a long cord on which are strung a number of "cash" coins, the other end of the cord is held in money toad's jaws. There is a popular story about this god of luck in which he once caught and tamed the "evil monster" by using a cord strung with coins as bait. Liu Hai is considered as a symbol of wealth and a charm to obtain prosperity and as such a toggle such as this one would have been appropriate for a merchant or trader.

(reference) Cammann, Schuyler, Substance and Symbol in Chinese Toggles, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1962, London, p.148.

This toggle is part of a group that was collected in Peking by Hedda and Alastair Morrison between 1940 and 1942. Most of them were purchased from markets outside Chongwenmen Gate, and in Liulichang, a street known for its antique shops.

Dress accessory, toggle, shape of the immortal figure Liu Hai, stone, maker unknown, China, c. 1700-1940

Toggle made of white stone with coloured patches and grain, relief carved in the form of a small, smiling child (possibly held within a papoose that is slung in the back), Liu Hai, who holds the end of a long cord on which are strung a number of "cash" coins in the raised right hand. A small hole is drilled just below the right hand.

Made: China; 1700 - 1940

Owned: Morrison, Hedda;

Owned: Morrison, Alastair;

none

92/430

1700 - 1940

20 mm

45 mm

32 mm