{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O89354"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89354/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2015HK4391/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2015HK4391/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2015HK4391","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HF0652","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HF0653","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HB6995","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HB6997","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HB6999","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HB7004","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O89354/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O89354","accessionNumber":"FE.81:1, 2-2002","objectType":"Pair of shoes","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Pair of green silk damask 'Manchu horse-hoof' shoes. The shoes are embroidered with floral and plant motifs in multicoloured silk thread. This decoration is overlaid with black velvet applique. The shoes are edged with blue silk satin. Vertical seams at the toes and heels had leather strips inserted to hold their shape. The bottom of the shoes are most likely padded with layers of cotton or paper to prevent jarring when walking. \r\n\r\nTheir 6.5cm-tall (most likely wooden) heels have a slightly curved 'horse-hoof’ (<i>mati</i>) shape with hemp-covered soles.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"silk textile","id":"AAT243428"},{"text":"silk thread","id":"x30127"},{"text":"paper","id":"AAT14109"},{"text":"leather","id":"AAT11845"},{"text":"cotton textile","id":"AAT14067"},{"text":"hemp","id":"AAT14043"},{"text":"velvet","id":"AAT133711"}],"techniques":[{"text":"shoe-making","id":"x40339"},{"text":"damask weave","id":"x37293"},{"text":"applique","id":"AAT53646"},{"text":"embroidering","id":"AAT53653"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Damask-weave silk; embroidering in silk threads with velvet applique; leather, cotton and hemp soles, wooden heel.","categories":[{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"},{"text":"Footwear","id":"THES48951"},{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"},{"text":"Embroidery","id":"THES48960"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"EAS","id":"THES48596"},"images":["2015HK4391","2014HF0652","2014HF0653","2014HB6995","2014HB6997","2014HB6999","2014HB7004"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"006","id":"THES326833"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"006","id":"THES326833"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Shoe","id":""}],[{"text":"Shoe","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"China","id":"x29398"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"19th century","earliest":"1800-01-01","latest":"1900-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Depth","value":"21.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"12","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"6.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":" ","type":"","note":""},{"content":" ","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"“Womenfolk of the ruling Manchus did not bind their feet, instead those in high-ranking families wore a special shoe, exaggeratedly elevated, with a concave heel in the centre of the instep. As well as imitating the swaying gait caused by bound feet it also made them tower over the diminutive Chinese: “…the shoes stand upon a sole of four or six inches (10-15cm) in height or even more. These soles, which consist of a wooden frame upon which white cotton cloth is stretched, are quite thin from the toe and heel to about the centre of the foot, when they curve abruptly downwards, forming a base of  2 or 3 inches square (5-8cm). In use they are exceedingly inconvenient, but….they show the well-to-do position of the wearer. The Manchus are…a taller…race than the Chinese, and the artificial increase to the height afforded by these shoes gives them at time almost startling proportions.” (Garrett, 135-137)\r\n\r\nAccording to Garrett, the exaggeratedly elevated shoe with a concave heel in the centre of the instep and how only the toe is showed when worn is meant to give the illusion of smallness but without the pain and discomfort associated with bound feet.\r\n\r\nAccording to a reference from Musée Guimet on Manchu women's shoes:\r\n\r\n\"Manchu official dress included boots for both men and women. However, within the informality of the home, upper class Manchu women wore silk slippers. Some of these slippers were fitted to a wooden platform that significantly increased the wearer's height. Many of these platform shoes balanced on a very small base, imposing a mincing gait on their wearer, possibly in imitation of the bound feet of Han Chinese women. Although forbidden by edict to bind their feet, Manchu women were greatly influenced by the Han Chinese custom. Whereas Han Chinese women practiced foot binding that forced the toes under the arch and compressed the width; from time to time Manchu women practiced a form of foot binding that compressed the width of the foot, resulting in a so-called 'knife-shaped foot'.\" (Levy, Howard, 1967, p67)\n\nOn display in the V&amp;A exhibition, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain between 13 June 2015 – 31 January 2016.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Pair of shoes, damask-weave silk; embroidering in silk threads with velvet applique; leather, cotton and hemp soles, wooden heel, China, 19th century","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Garrett, Valery M. <u>Chinese Clothing: An Illustrated Guide</u>. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Garrett, Valery M. <u>A Collector's Guide to Chinese Dress Accessories</u>. Singapore: Times Editions, 1997"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"壽字紋","id":"CIT289711"},{"text":"雲紋","id":"CIT0292555"},{"text":"蘭","id":"CIT280897"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Label for the exhibition Shoes: Pleasure and Pain\r\nHigh Stepping \r\nColourful embroidered and appliquéd shoes like these were worn by elite women of the ruling dynasty in 19th-century China. The shoes required a balancing act by the wearer, forcing her to walk with an upright posture and tiny steps. A maid could provide support, on the rare occasions the high-ranking woman ventured outside the home\r\n\r\nManchu horse-hoof shoes\r\n1850–1900\r\nChina\r\nSilk damask, silk embroidery,\r\nvelvet appliqué, leather, cotton and hemp\r\nV&A: FE.81:1, 2-2002","date":{"text":"2015-2016","earliest":"2015-01-01","latest":"2016-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["FE.81:1-2002","FE.81:2-2002"],"accessionNumberNum":"81","accessionNumberPrefix":"FE","accessionYear":2002,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Shoe [1]","Shoe [2]"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-09-07","recordCreationDate":"2004-01-14","availableToBook":true}}