Cleveland Museum of Art

Gilt-bronze Boot, One of a Pair

Date

907–1125

Medium

Gilt-bronze

Culture

Northern China, Liao dynasty (907-1125)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Bronze and silver-gilt boots, modeled after textile and leather boots, were found in Liao tombs. A pair of silver-gilt boots (dated 1018 or earlier) with phoenix motifs and cloud scrolls, were excavated from the tomb of Princess Chen and Xiao Shaoju in Inner Mongolia at Qinglongshan town in Naiman Banner; the couple’s faces were covered with gold masks. This gilt-bronze boot shows rising dragons chasing pearls and may have been made for a male tomb occupant. The boot's dragon motif suggests that the wearer was a male princely member of the ruling family.

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