Shoes for Bound Feet
CultureChinese
MediumEmbroidery on silk satin on leather
DimensionsOverall: 2 1/4 × 3 3/4 × 1 3/16 inches (5.72 × 9.53 × 3.04 cm)
Credit LineGift of Gertrude M. Zimmerman in memory of Eleanor Macaulay Bigham
Object numberF95-34 A,B
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThe red satin shoes are embroidered on the outer sides with white and pink flowers. colored flower on one shoe and a bird on the other. saddle the heels and are embroidered with a purple flower. soles have a small embroidered flowering vine. the inside of each shoe is lines with buff-colored canvas printed with a blue leaf and geometric scroll pattern.Gallery LabelThese tiny handmade shoes with embroidered flowers were made specifically for women with bound feet, a form of body modification and a beauty trend that lasted for centuries in China.
The origins of foot binding can be traced back to a practice used by dancers and entertainers during the 700s C.E. Small feet were considered refined and appealing. The practice took an extreme turn with elite families during the Song dynasty (960–1279), when women were primarily confined to domestic spaces. This painful process was imposed on girls by their mothers, sometimes as early as age six.
In the late 1800s, foot binding practices spread from the upper classes to rural villagers. When China opened the country to foreign visitors, the practice of foot binding was tremendously criticized. With societal changes and campaigns against foot binding by influential scholars, politicians, and missionaries, the practice was completely abandoned in the early 1900s
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