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. The button form is a simple and basic type of toggle. The button toggles are convex on the face and hollowed out behind, giving them a very distinctive appearance. Often they are smoothed and polished to afford tactile pleasure and to enhance the effect of the natural substance from which it was made.

(reference)
Cammann, Schuyler, Substance and Symbol in Chinese Toggles, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1962, London, pp.34-35.

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, button-shaped disc, [ivory or bone], maker unknown, China, c. 1700-1940

Polished (ivory or bone) circular button-shaped disc with a shallow on the underside drilled through the shank with small holes for attachment. The surface is stained with a central mottled dark green band flanked with a lighter olive green.

Made: China; 1700 - 1940

Owned: Morrison, Hedda;

Owned: Morrison, Alastair;

none

92/447

1700 - 1940

8 mm

40 mm