Pair of Manchu Women's Shoes
Culture: Chinese
Dynasty: Qing
Date: ca. 1900
Dimensions:
each: 4 × 2 1/2 × 9 3/4 in. (10.2 × 6.4 × 24.8 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Robert K. Winn
Object number: 54.23.a-b
Label Text
Unlike Han Chinese women, Manchu women never experienced the painful process of foot-binding when growing up. Instead, they learned to accustom themselves to walking in elevated shoes while managing long gowns. The shoes are lined with cotton and have a stiff inner lining. Designs on the shoes were often embroidered by women at home, and the elevated wooden bases were made by a professional cobbler. The heightened wooden soles were believed to give the wearer a graceful gait and a grander appearance. However, their utilitarian function may lie more in keeping long dress hems and the shoes' embroidered silk surfaces out of the mud.
(Label text, 2019)
(Label text, 2019)
Not on view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
