antique Chinese shoes for bound-feet Pink Silk & Silver

Home > Worthopedia – Price Guide > Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art >

antique Chinese shoes for bound-feet Pink Silk & Silver

Terms and Conditions for using our site

antique Chinese shoes for bound-feet Pink Silk & Silver

Sold For:

or Sign In to see what it's worth.

Sold Date: 08/11/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

For the serious advanced collector of Chinese exotica - erotica, a genuine Pair of Ching Dynasty (c 1850) Chinese shoes for tiny feet caused by foot-binding; in Pink satin and silver couchwork (metalic silver wrapped around a thread and stitched to the surface; they appear to be grey because the silver has oxidized) miniature size: length tip tp back just 2.25" x 1" high x 5/8" wide. In 40 years of buying and selling oriental antiques these are the SMALLEST shoes we have ever seen. T would seem to be two possibilities, the first is that they were intended for an INFANT girl when she "wed" her husband-to-be (red is a lucky and bridal color, the satin was probably originally red but has faded to pink). The second alternative is that they doll-sized models for display only (but they seem too well crafted to be just doll shoes). The soles on the bottom of the shoes show no wear, which is consistent with either theory: 1) infant girls couldn't walk anyway, or 2) doll shoes aren't walked upon either. Our best guess is that they were intended for an "infant bride" but they were preserved by Western missionaries (because they are open at the back which would allow a baby's foot of any size to "fit" into these shoes --such misrepresentations of shoe size should be a familiar "cheat" known by true afficianados). The two shoes are still held together by two cream-colored threads, which you can see in the "mirror"-like photo, and they still have an aged paper tissue stuffed inside them which has turned from white to cafe-au-lait. For 150 year old textile they are in extraordinary condition, but the satin has faded from red to pink and t is some scuffing of the satin on the sides near the heels (denoted as darker pink). These are NOT a pair of the cheaply made new shoes that are coming out of China now that are being misrepresented and sold on eBay as antiques. You will never find another pair like these, ever, at any price! [China Qing erotic constriction]