Description:This small red shoe was worn by Chinese women with bound feet, about 1900. The shoe is made from silk and has embroidered decoration in the form of lotus flowers and insects. The sole is also embroidered.
Young girls had their feet bound between the ages of three and five. The most desirable length for a woman's foot was just three inches. Girls learnt to make shoes which formed part of their wedding trousseau and were given as gifts to their husband's family.
Foot binding was made illegal in China in 1911.
This shoe was probably sold as a tourist souvenir.