Lotus shoes
| Description: |
For nearly one thousand years, peoples of the Han nationality in China practiced the binding of womens feet, emulating the bud of a lotus flower. The lotus flower symbolizes purity, perfection, and fruitfulness and young girl’s feet were bound to deform them into the “ideal” 3 inch golden lily. Bound feet were adorned with beautifully embroidered and decorated shoes such as these. Certain symbols were embroidered on the shoes to convey the makers wishes. The bat symbol means good fortune. If good fortune has already arrived to the person, the bat emblem is shown upside-down. |
|---|---|
| Source: |
http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/844 |
| Collection: |
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis |
| Rights: | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/; |
| Copyright: |
Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0); |
| Geography: |
China |
| Subjects: |
China -- Civilization--221 B.C.-960 A.D. China -- Social life and customs Footbinding -- China Shoes Shoes -- China Shoes -- History Footwear Clothing and dress |
Further information on this record can be found at its source.
This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library.