ETHAS 005045

Chine trois moulages de pied bandés

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005045
Three casts of bound feet, chanzu 纏足
China, Canton
19th century
Plaster, silk
Former collection of the Mission Museum, gift of the missionary Charles Piton
Chinese women began to bind their feet in the late 10th century and the custom continued until the fall of the empire (1911). The ideal foot size was 8 cm and was considered erotic and distinguished. Binding began when the girl was about 5-7 and was the occasion for a family celebration. These shoes were also gifts, especially from a young woman to her future mother-in-law.

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Power

Power within a society is expressed firstly by the superiority of physical force and weapons. It is then consolidated by the development of administrative, governmental and economic systems and a hierarchy, which may be highly centralised, as in China and Japan, or more diversified, as in India or the former East Indies.

Imperial China

Despite the immensity of its empire, the Chinese court was the most centralised and one of the most sumptuous in the world until its downfall in 1911. Its power depended on a formidable administrative pyramid and the uniform use of Chinese writing throughout the empire.

Empress Dowager Cixi escorted by eunuchs, around 1903-1904 © Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M.

Empress Dowager Cixi escorted by eunuchs, around 1903-1904 © Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Smithsonian Institution

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