In Chinese tombs such as those in Astana, as well as model accoutrements the deceased were also often provided with actual items of clothing, money and food for their next life. These silk brocade shoes have survived in astonishingly good condition, partly because they were probably new when buried and also owing to the dry desert climate. Astana lies in the Turfan Depression, the second lowest place on earth (after the Dead Sea) and is extremely hot and dry.
Silk brocade
Xinjiang Museum,
68TAM381