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. Agate was often included in the broad jade category in China. It was believed to possess medicinal powers, so it is sometimes used for toggles. This toggle is a double gourd (Hu Lu) which is often utilized for toggles since it has a pinched- in-waist around which the fastening cord could be easily tied. It can symbolise fertility and has associations with medicine, healing, good fortune, etc. In Chinese folklore, the gourd is a Taoist container for magic potions. It represents heaven and earth (in unity). It is also a symbol of Li-Tie Guai, one of the eight immortals who used the gourd to hold substances used for trapping demons.

(reference)
Morrison, Hedda and Alastair, Chinese Toggles: A little Known Folk Art., Arts of Asia, March/April 1986

Cammann, Schuyler, Chinese Belt Toggles, Oriental Art. New Series Vol.8 No. 2 Summer 1962

Cammann, Schuyler, Substance and Symbol in Chinese Toggles, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1962, London, pp.114-115

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 a double gourd, stone (agate), maker unknown, China, c. 1700-1940

Toggle made of smooth, polished dark brown agate carved into the form of double bottle or gourd with stem. The narrow waist is for attachment.

Made: China; 1700 - 1940

Owned: Morrison, Hedda;

Owned: Morrison, Alastair;

none

92/459

1700 - 1940

19 mm

85 mm

22 mm