Tiny Treasure

The other day I was straightening up my closet--it's amazing what I can

find in the dark recesses of that place.  Years ago, we were fortunate

enough to take a journey to China--an enlightening adventure to

say the least.  We picked up some interesting textiles on that trip-

like this 

tiny shoe from a generation of bound feet!

We visited a museum in this Shangani gentlemen's home

He had made it his life mission to visit Chinese ladies who

live in outlying regions to see if they had shoes from

this era of bound feet.  He had a massive collection--

it was a sight to see!  So many different little shoes--

hard to imagine they came from those who did

the unthinkable--but it was the custom to have tiny 

feet--to be waited upon by the family members.

Most of his collection were pairs, but he did have some

singles.  Of these he allowed me to buy this one.

I chose this tiny one because of the indigo features in the details.

Someone in the family, maybe even the wearer, had

used indigo bath to dye the fabric and threads used to

decorate this ornate footwear.

It is a treasure--just wish I knew more about the person

who this foot adorned.