Dress toggle made in China
Object No. 92/619
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.
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Summary
Object Statement
Dress accessory, toggle, circular disk, antler horn, China, c. 1700-1940
Physical Description
Dress accessory, toggle, circular disk, antler horn, China, c. 1700-1940 Flat, roughly circular horn disc (deer antler) with the rough natural surface only slightly polished. The outer rim is naturally notched and there are eight small holes for attachment.
DIMENSIONS
Height
56 mm
Width
60 mm
Depth
12 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
It was believed that antlers and other animal products had many auspicious and medical powers of their own, to an even greater extent than many of the woods. Antlers were highly valued and believed to be capable of restoring lost youth and stimulating virility. This was because the Chinese thought the deer was the only animal to discover and eat 'ling zhi', the sacred fungus also known as the Plant of Long Life, and that most of the virtues from the fungus was absorbed into the antlers. Because of this, the deer itself also became a symbol of longevity and immortality. Cammann, Schuyler, Substance and Symbol in Chinese Toggles, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1962, London, pp.61, 67.
HISTORY
Notes
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.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Alastair Morrison, 1992
Acquisition Date
22 June 1992
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