Xiaodan's Foot

Xiaodan's Foot
奇妙的金属脚
The foot prosthetic known as Xiaodan's Foot
Material	Silver
Size	Size of a human foot
Created	Caphirian Royal Foundry

Xiaodan's Foot is a silver foot prosthetic that belonged to Emperor Xiaodan of the Qian dynasty. The foot was made by Ezechio Destonianus Martoš who was the chief silversmith of the Royal Foundry of Caphirian Imperator Panocoscăr II, who was the one who commissioned the prosthetic as a gift for the Daxian emperor. It was designed for a right foot and made of shaped silver with fine golden adornments and banded copper, inlaid saphires, rubies, garnets, emeralds, mother pearl and glass. It was held in place by strips of fine horse leather that have since rotted away. Emperor Xiaodan was reputedly one of the most obese emperors in Daxian history, losing his right foot due to complications from gout when he was only 35 years old.

Description

The foot measures 24 centimeters in length, ten centimeters across and sixteen centimeters high. It is made of exquisitively worked silver, all of the surface excepting the toes is covered in flowers worked in gold, the foot sole and bands are also pure gold. It is encrusted with twenty six large gems and forty two small ones. The gems are saphires, emeralds, rubies, garnets and amethysts. On the front it has a flower made of eleven small mother pearls. On the bridge of the foot there is a viewing panel, the silversmiths were under the impression the Emperor's foot was merely withered; the contraption would function as a boot and once the Emperor's foot it was inserted in it, the foot's condition could be monitored with the viewing panel. The entire contraption would have been secured with leather straps.

History

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  Xiaodan's foot from an angle

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  Xiaodan's foot from the side