shoe(?);
sandal(?)
- Museum number
- Eu.4227
- Description
-
Sandal or espadrille, made of hemp, rigid sole formed of two layers of twisted hemp cord, the front upper formed of woven fabric attached to sole with band of blanket stitch, open toe. Heel formed of another woven band of hemp attached between the two layers of the sole with two loops at the ankle to hold the string tie which passes through the front, crosses over the foot, through the loops, round the heel to tie at ankle.
- Production date
- 19thC (before 1870)
- Dimensions
-
Length: 24.50 centimetres (sole)
-
Length: 25.30 centimetres (total)
-
Width: 8 centimetres (sole)
- Curator's comments
- Christy label attached to object with 'C.C. 116'. Original card label reads: Shoes - in common use in the mountains about Grenada [sic]. Made of hemp. Presented by Major E.H.D.E. Napier, 46th Reg.'
E.D.H..E Napier travelled widely in Europe, Asia and Africa. He was author of a number of books published in the 1840s and 1850s, including 'Excursions along the Shores of the Mediterranean (London: 1842) and may have colected these sandals at that time.
The following information kindly supplied by Rebecca Shawcross, Northampton Museum &b Art Gallery:
This hemp espadrille is Spanish or at least of Spanish origins. Spanish farmers and in general people living in the countryside would have found it expensive to buy leather shoes and so relied on shoes made by using materials that were at hand, cheaper to use and pretty abundant. Such materials included grass, straw and hemp. Of course this type of shoe wouldn't have lasted as long and so many people would have made their own. They are fairly simple to construct. The soles would have been made from rolled up hemp ropes and then braided or stitched together. Each region had its own style and someone who knew about the style differences in the different regions might confirm that these are indeed from Granada. This espadrille style can also be found in South American countries, in particular Columbia.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1865
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- Eu.4227
- Additional IDs
-
CDMS number: Eu186?C1.4227 (old CDMS no.)
