649. the tiger roars 🐯


little feet
dressed in embroidered silk
the tiger roars

 

Long ago in the Qing Dynasty in China, 1880s AD, children were dressed in tiger-head shoes with the hopes of being protected from disease and disaster and growing up filled with the robust and dynamic spirit of the tiger, “king of beasts.”

These shoes, from the collection of the Allentown Art Museum, are currently on display along with other traditional shoes from cultures around the world.