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Source Description
This magnificent pair of boots, made of finely woven silk tapestry (<em>kesi</em>), features two phoenixes in flight chasing a flaming pearl. Although the bright colors of the fabric have become muted from being buried in a tomb and the gold threads are partly disintegrated, the once lavish use of gold and the Chinese-inspired phoenix motif suggest that the boots were made for a member of the Liao imperial family, probably a woman. At the time the boots were made in the Khitan-occupied territory in northern China, footbinding was introduced among upper-class women in southern China. The high value the Khitan people accorded to boots relates to their mobile, seminomadic lifestyle.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
157004
label
Pair of Boots
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
157004
contentType
object
title
Pair of Boots
description
This magnificent pair of boots, made of finely woven silk tapestry (<em>kesi</em>), features two phoenixes in flight chasing a flaming pearl. Although the bright colors of the fabric have become muted from being buried in a tomb and the gold threads are partly disintegrated, the once lavish use of gold and the Chinese-inspired phoenix motif suggest that the boots were made for a member of the Liao imperial family, probably a woman. At the time the boots were made in the Khitan-occupied territory in northern China, footbinding was introduced among upper-class women in southern China. The high value the Khitan people accorded to boots relates to their mobile, seminomadic lifestyle.
date
907–1125
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79947149
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 47.5 x 30.8 cm (18 11/16 x 12 1/8 in.)
cul
Northern China, Liao dynasty (907-1125)
accession
1993.158
Source extras
tec
Silk: tapestry weave; two kinds of metal threads
tombstone
Pair of Boots, 907–1125. Northern China, Liao dynasty (907-1125). Silk: tapestry weave; two kinds of metal threads; overall: 47.5 x 30.8 cm (18 11/16 x 12 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1993.158
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
The boots have a complete padding and lining, but the soles do not show signs of being worn.
citations
citation
“1993 Annual Report.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 81, no. 6 (June 1994): 143–218.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 167
citation
Wilson, J. Keith, and Anne E. Wardwell. "New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>81, no. 8 (1994): 270-347.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 325; Mentioned: p. 325-28, 347
citation
Wardell, Anne E., "Royal Regalia", Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 35 no. 08, October 1995
page_number
Mentioned & reproduced: p. 7
citation
Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. 1997.
page_number
pp. 87-90, reproduced in color, p. 87, detail repr. p. 88, figure 30
citation
Watt, James C. Y, Anne E Wardwell, Anne E Wardwell, Morris Rossabi, Cleveland Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), Morris Rossabi, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). <em>When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1997.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 87-90, no. 23
citation
Cunningham, Michael R. <em>Masterworks of Asian art</em>. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 48 - 49
citation
Spee, Clarissa von. "From the SIlk Road to the Imperial Court: Chinese Textiles in the Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>Arts of Asia</em> 48, no. 3(May-June 2018): 50-56.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 51, fig. 2
citation
Müller, Kathrin. <em>Musterhaft naturgetreu: Tiere in Seiden, Zeichnungen und Tapisserien des 14. und 15.</em> <em>Jahrhunderts.</em> Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 2020.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 58, abb. 14
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:10:06.307000
sourceId
157004
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Silk: tapestry weave; two kinds of metal threads
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
69d6f60658d2528c