used
| - One pair of Manchu horse-hoof shoes for women of high-ranking families in coral silk satin upper embroidered with goldfishes in green, blue and beige silk thread, and edged with black silk satin.Vertical seams at toe had leather strip and loose blue silk thread stitched together inserted to hold the shape. The bottom of the shoe is most likely padded with layers of cotton to prevent jarring when walking. Its tall wooden heel has a slightly curved 'horse-hoof' ('mati'??) shape with hemp-covered sole. (en)
- Label for the exhibition Shoes: Pleasure and Pain
Standing Tall
In Qing dynasty China, women from high-ranking families wore exaggeratedly elevated shoes. The increase in height gave the Manchu ethnic women startling proportions. They towered over the shorter Han women with their tiny bound feet. The pedestals, sometimes embroidered or decorated with gems, could reach a height of 15 cm and would be visible below the skirt’s hem.
Pair Of Matidi
1800–75
China
Silk satin, silk embroidery,
cotton and wood
V&A: FE.71:1, 2-2014 [2015-2016] (en)
- Shoe, one of a pair, embroidered silk satin, wooden heel, China, 1800-1875 (en)
|