Only the women of the Manchu tribe (rulers during the Qing dynasty 1644 - 1912) and some minorities like the Hakka people did not bind the feet of their daughters. And sometimes young women in the countryside also escaped foot-binding because bound feet made working on the land almost impossible. But women of the largest Chinese population group, the Han, would have little chance of marrying a suitable suitor if their feet had not been bound. So this gruesome practice continued until 1949 when foot-binding was abolished. Very small size lotus shoes like the ones depicted here, did not automatically mean that they were meant for a young girl with small feet. Some women already had small feet which after binding would become even smaller. Just like this set of two pairs. They are interesting because one pair clearly shows that it was used. The outside is somewhat faded and the interior is darker than the other one. The amount of wear and tear is however negligible. Both pairs are still in very good shape and once formed part of a dowry. They came from a private collection in Shanghai in 2010 and date from around 1900. Length 11.4 cm. Width 4.6 cm. Height 7.1 cm.