Artwork Page for Pair of Boots

Details / Information for Pair of Boots

Pair of Boots

1000–1125

China, Northern, Liao dynasty

(907-1125)
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Medium
Silk: compound twill; silk and gold: tapestry; silk: tabby, gauze, batting; leather
Measurements
Overall: 32.8 x 25 cm (12 15/16 x 9 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1992.349.2
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The fabric and tailoring of garments have always defined social status. For these boots, different outer fabrics were used: a patterned silk for the leg portion, and tapestry (kesi) for the foot. Since both were considered luxury fabrics, they were pieced together from remnants too precious to discard. Consequently, the silk pattern was not used in relation to the form of the boot. By contrast, these boots would have been made for a court official, not a member of the imperial family. The patterned silk was woven with geese flanking a vase of flowers on a stand and surrounded by cloud scrolls. The Chinese motif of flowers arranged in a vase was adopted by the Liao during the 11th century and indicates an 11th- or early 12th-century date for the boots.
A vertically oriented silk and gold tapestry boot in muted golds, tans, and greens centers a flowering plant in a vase on the leg section. Two birds flank the vase, facing inward against a tan background. Below, the foot section points left with a separate pattern of wavy tan and brown lines. Visible seams join the textured woven fabric, which shows fraying along the top edge.

Pair of Boots

1000–1125

China, Northern, Liao dynasty (907-1125)

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