Collector's Lecture: Chinese Lotus Shoes

Event Date: Saturday, June 28 · 2 - 3pm CDT

For over a thousand years, successive generations of Chinese women endured the painful body modification of footbinding, when, as young girls, they suffered through a procedure in which their mothers systematically compressed and inhibited the natural growth of their feet, by binding them in constricting cotton bandages. The resultant aesthetically altered feet, -miniscule, tapering and pointed-were reputed to resemble the closed blossom of a water lily or lotus flower, and so given the appellation of “lily” or “lotus” feet.  Believed to be an enhancement, lotus feet were considered to be a highly valued attribute for a woman to possess, with the most coveted lotus foot, the absolute prized feminine adornment, determined to be an adult woman’s foot reduced to just three inches, or less, in length…..a “golden lotus.”

This personal collection acquired from numerous expeditions to China over a period of thirty-five years, began with an objective of rescuing, or salvaging what remained of footbinding culture. Artifacts speak, and are perhaps the most reliable evidence available, if one knows how to read them. By using these tangible items of material culture affiliated with footbinding it is possible to illuminate the aspects of the practice that were abstract, including the ideas, beliefs, values, ideologies and rituals central to Chinese women’s assumption of the custom- substantiating the tyranny of fashion and fear of ostracization that incentivized the bizarre custom for a millennium, compelling generations of Chinese mothers to bind their own daughter’s feet.

Collector's Bio:
Prentice began collecting lotus shoes and the material culture of footbinding after a first trip to China in the early 1980's and now owns over 600 pair of shoes and a thousand or so auxiliary items. Assembled in the pursuit of a knowledge of footbinding, with the realization that within these objects there dwells a truth that can shed a revealing light, Prentice hopes the exhibit will provoke the viewer to challenge their taken-for-granted assumptions regarding footbinding's endurance and appeal, to scrutinize the Western perceptions of footbinding that have so often been prejudiced by our own agendas and social conventions thus coloring our understanding of the practice, and to question the ethnocentrism that has relegated footbinding a unique aberration of Chinese culture. The story of footbinding is elusive, complex, and at times, confrontational. So to delve into this subject is challenging—yet an unbelievably interesting journey to make.

Accessibility:
The Heritage Museum of Asian Art's Entrance is on West 35th Street. Take the elevator to the third floor and turn right to the Museum Reception Desk. The museum is wheelchair accessible, accessible and standard toilets are located on the same floor. Audio Description will be available for those who need it. Free parking space is available next to the museum via West 35th Street.

‍

‍

JOIN FOR FREE