HONG KONG 1980’S

In the earliest years of the 1980’s, after traveling to mainland China from the family home base in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, the Voegele family collection began with the first of what would become hundreds of lotus shoes and lotus shoe tools in the collection. As the collection progressed, blue and white porcelain, textiles and various Objects d’Art began to be included as well. Sharon, the family matriarch, always inspired to support progressive women’s rights in America, China and all around the world, believed that it was important to remember the past and find creative silver linings in the brutal and oppressive thousand year old practice of binding girls and young women’s feet. She thought it was important to remember that these girls and these women were not allowed to read or write so that weaving and stitch work symbology became the only creative outlets allowed for Han women for a millennium. As cruel a practice as it may have been, it also severe as a bonding ritual between mother and daughter before the young girl would become married and leave her family to permanently reside with her in-laws. Woven into each pair of shoes, self-crafted and decorated by the young women who wore them, is to be found a secret symbolic language and a visible pride in the individual artistic craftsmanship that surely provided meaning and esoteric philosophical insights to many otherwise joyless lives of servitude.

TAIWAN 1990’s

In 1986 the family relocated to the promising Democracy that was to become modern Taiwan. At the time it was still under Marshall law and under the control of Chaing Kai-Shek’s grandson. That year Democracy activists demonstrating in Kaohsiung were arrested and imprisoned following what is known as the Kaohsiung Incident, which eventually lead to the formation and development of the Democratic Progressive Party in 1986 and the first Democratic elections the following year. Foot binding was first brought to Taiwan in the 17th century by the occupying army of Ming Dynasty who invaded the island of indigenous Taiwanese peoples. At its peak, up to 70 percent of women in Taiwan eventually had their feet bound. When in 1949, the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the island of Taiwan, leaving Mao Tse-tung’s communists in control of the mainland, he took the best pieces of ancient Chinese history and art with him. In three ships and across stormy waters, more than 600,000 of the finest and most fragile artworks were transported to Taiwan. Remarkably, the precious cargo arrived entirely intact and can be seen on display at several off the great Taiwanese museums in downtown Taipei and elsewhere around the country. This rich artistic center became a healthy resource for collectors who were interested in preserving the folk history of the uniquely deigned taiwanese lotus shoes, Chinese porcelain, and other dynamic styles of art from days gone bye. Now deeply rooted in Taiwan and from there, traveling extensively though out South East Asia and mainland China, The Voegele family collection grew exponentially in every direction at this time.

SINGAPORE 2000’s

By the year 2000 The Voegele Family had uprooted from a fourteen-year residency in Taiwan and relocated, to the prosperous and benevolent city-state of Singapore. Singapore in the 2000’s was an island of continuing political stability and renewed economic growth in a region still struggling through the effects of economic, social, and political turbulence triggered mostly by both the regional financial crisis of 1997 and the cultural shift when Hong Kong was returned to mainland China after 200 years of British rule. It was at this time that Singapore began more progressive social reforms that allowed for a blossoming of architecture, popular culture, and contemporary art. Along with cultural growth came an increase in freedoms of speech and press. Uniquely situated at the equatorial tip of the Malay peninsula, Singapore is a multi-ethnic port city, the second busiest port in the world and a perfect point of embarkation to easily travel to India, the Indonesian archipelago islands, China, and the Philippines or even Australia with little effort and a bit of patience. Although it rains for 20 minutes once a day nearly every day all year long and the heat and humidity can be described fairy accurately as oppressive, the country truly is a melting pot of ancient cultures, languages, architecture, and cuisine nearly unrivaled in the world. It was from this new home in Singapore that the Voegele family collection continued to grow and expand into new avenues of interest. With new Singaporean friendships also came new avenues of education and deeper meaningful understanding of the individual objects, textiles, and ceramics that the family would continue to explore from this magical part of the world for the next 20 years.

New York City 2020’s

The 2010’s would be the last decade in Asia for the Patriarch and the Matriarch of the Voegele family. As Sharon and Jim departed this world far too early and unexpectedly, they left behind an incredible legacy of children, collected artifacts and countless memories in the hearts and minds of every person they ever encountered. They certainly left an indelible mark of global, spiritual and artistic curiosity on their boys, Jason and Ben, who would inherit their love of travel, their passionate interests in preserving cultural history, progressive rights of women around the world and of course the beautiful art and antiquities that make up the Voegele family collection. In the early 2020’s the brothers Voegele had the collection transported to New York City to be photographed, documented, and cataloged for posterity and potential university or museum exhibition. The brothers Voegele are dedicated to preserving this legacy, to the continuation and expansion of the collection and the public display of those uniquely curious works of South-East Asian folk arts that the family took such pride in acquiring for decades. It is the brothers Voegele’s hope that here in New York City, the opportunity to share this rare collection with the world may find fruition in the many historical institutions and generous individuals who hold up the artistic backbone of this, the greatest city in the world. In that spirit, this website is dedicated to the memory of Jim and Sharon Voegele and all the other curious collectors out there whom, out of love and wonder, hope for this magical world to continue to preserve these kinds of historical objects and keep the study of cultural history alive and always thriving.

PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH

REFERENCE BOOKS

Foot-binding, Feminism and Freedom; The Liberation of Women’s Bodies in China, by Fan Hong, (De Montfort University) 1997. Published by Frank Cass &Co. LTD.
Chinese Foot-binding; The History of a Curious Erotic Custom, by Howard S Levy, 1966. Published by SMC Publishing, ROC
Chinese Symbolism & Art Motifs; Fourth Revised Edition, by C.A.S Williams, 1974. Published by Charles E. Tuttle Co. Inc.
Buddhist Art & Architecture, by Robert E. Fisher, PHD, 1993. Published by Thames and Hudson Ltd, London
Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts; Festivals of China, by Carol Stepanchuk and Charles Wong 1993. Published by S. Abdul Majeed & Co., Malaysia
Dragons and Silk From the Forbidden City, by Teresa Coleman 1990. Published b y Teresa Coleman Fine Arts, Ltd., Hong Kong
Every Step A Lotus; Shoes for Bound Feet by Dorothy Ko, 2001. Published by The Bata Shoe Museum Foundation & University of California Press
Children of the Gods; Dress and Symbolism in China, by Valery M. Garrett and Naomi Yin-yin Szeto, 1990. Published by Hong Kong Museum of History and The Urban Council, HK
Splendid Slippers; A Thousand Years of and Erotic Tradition, by Beverly Jackson, 1997, 2000. Published by Ten Speed Press, Berkley, California

REFERENCES- PEOPLE AND PLACES

Framing Angie Art Gallery, Pte. Ltd. 211 Holland Ave. #03-02, Singapore
Zhang’s Antiques, Hong Qiao Market, 3rd Fl. No. 78, Beijing, China
Zhang’s Textiles, NB140, B1, China World Trade Center, Beijing, China
Teresa Coleman Fine Arts, Ltd. Hong Kong
Antique Yue, 1F, No.212 Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan

Collection History & Research materials

HONG KONG 1980’S

TAIWAN 1990’s

SINGAPORE 2000’s

New York City 2020’s

PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH