Shoes
Title
Shoes
Description
And ivory-colored silk shoe for bound feet. The shoe has a heel of approximately one inch. Blue quilted sole blue wave-like decoration with black piping and floral embroidery. Traces of orange sawtooth edging to hold inner and outer layers of fabric: most of this has worn away. Hand made. The whole heel section is frayed as well as the lower part all around silk torn and missing around top front; silk faded and stained throughout. Mate of shoe not in collection. Such tiny shoes were worn by many women of the Han Chinese majority (Western Han: 206 BC - 8 AD and Eastern Han: 26 AD - 220 AD) who had their feet deformed in childhood. Inside the shoes the feet were kept tightly bound using a layer of bandages followed by a layer of broad ribbon. This custom was practiced until as late as the 1930's.
Identifier
1987.013.001