Pair of Boots
Unknown Artist
907–1125
Medium
Silk: tapestry weave; two kinds of metal threads
Dimensions
47.5 × 30.8 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1993.158
About this artwork
This magnificent pair of boots, made of finely woven silk tapestry (kesi), features two phoenixes in flight chasing a flaming pearl. Although the bright colors of the fabric have become muted from being buried in a tomb and the gold threads are partly disintegrated, the once lavish use of gold and the Chinese-inspired phoenix motif suggest that the boots were made for a member of the Liao imperial family, probably a woman. At the time the boots were made in the Khitan-occupied territory in north...