Chinese Black Silk Lotus Slippers with Plum Blossoms, c. 1850

These dainty, pointed slippers, made of cotton and silk embroidered with pink flowers, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity in the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive - albeit tortured - gait of small, light steps. These silk lotus slippers...

These pointed silk slippers are beautifully embroidered with colorful bats and golden coins, symbols of happiness and good luck, and were shaped to resemble a lotus bud to enhance one's bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity during the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive, albeit tortured, gait of small, light steps. These beautifully preserved lotus slippers...

Each of these pointed slippers, crafted of beautifully embroidered silk, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity during the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive - albeit tortured - gait of small, light steps. These beautifully preserved lotus slippers...

These dainty, pointed slippers, made of blue silk and embroidered with pink flowers, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity in the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive - albeit tortured - gait of small, light steps. These embroidered silk lotus slippers...

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