id: 156749 accession number: 1992.349 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1992.349 updated: 2019-11-18 11:52:49.285000 Pair of Boots, 1000 - 1125. China, Northern, Liao dynasty (907-1125). Compound twill, silk; tapestry, silk and gold; tabby, silk; gauze, silk; silk batting; leather; overall: 34.9 x 25 cm (13 3/4 x 9 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1992.349 title: Pair of Boots title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1000 - 1125 creation date earliest: 1000 creation date latest: 1125 current location: creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: China, Northern, Liao dynasty (907-1125) technique: compound twill, silk; tapestry, silk and gold; tabby, silk; gauze, silk; silk batting; leather department: Textiles collection: Textiles type: Garment find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 34.9 x 25 cm (13 3/4 x 9 13/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall 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, as seen in some other imperial boots. 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.349/1992.349_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.349/1992.349_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.349/1992.349_full.tif