We’ve have put together a list of 20 artefacts you might not expect to find in a shoe museum. The BSM’s collection of 13,000 artefacts obviously contains a large number of shoes, however, we also collect, own and display various other items that may take you by surprise.
1) Roger Vivier Sketches
The museum has 63 individual and original design sketches dated from 1949 to 1988 by French shoemaker and designer, Roger Vivier.
2) Egyptian Gilt and Painted Cartonnage Ensemble
Egyptian mask, a pectoral and a foot covering. Ensemble is from the Roman Period, circa 1st century CE.
3) Chinese Painting on Paper
Chinese painting on paper of a woman sewing lotus shoes, late 19th century.
4) Swiss Silver Guild Cup
An inscription at the top of the cup indicates that it was a gift of the Zurich Shoemaker’s Guild to the Zurich Tanner’s Guild in 1590.
5) Soapstone Sculpture
Soapstone sculpture of an Inuit mother, with a child on her back, putting boots on another child. Handmade by Canadian Inuk artist Killy Peshuktu, 1993.
6) Saami Winter Parka
Collected by Drs. Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe during a Saami field trip between April-May 1999 sponsored by the Bata Shoe Museum Foundation.
7) Marble Foot Sculpture
d in France.
8) Samurai Doll
This carved and painted wooded doll is adorned with body armour holds a fan in his right hand and a sword in his left. His shoes are very similar to a pair in the BSM’s collection.
9) Shoemaking Automaton Monkey
This monkey music box is from 1880 and made by famed French automaton maker, Jean-Marie Phalibois.
10) Indian Anklets
Anklets are worn singly and in pairs. They are made as single or multiple-piece units, either solid or hollow. The simpleness of this design emphasizes the purity of the silver.
11) Stone Sculpture
This cream coloured sculpture features a woman’s
stiletto-heeled shoe and a man’s low-heeled oxford. Called A deux, it is one of an edition of 400, signed and numbered by German sculptor, Paul Wunderlich, between 1973-1988.
12) Elvis Presley’s Shirt
This casual short sleeved shirt belonged to Elvis Presley in the early 1970s and was purchased by the BSM (along with a pair of shoes) from Christie’s auction house.
13) Beaver Fur Hat
The desire for beaver fur hats in European men’s fashions dates back centuries and spurred the development of the 17th century North American fur trade.
14) Louis Vuitton Trunk
This vintage Louis Vuitton shoe trunk was last on display in The Roaring Twenties: Heels, Hemlines and High Spirits
15) Sled
This Alaskan Inupiat sled from 1900 is primarily made of baleen wood.
16) Model Canoe
This model of a birch bark canoe, accompanied with a wooden paddle, is from the early 19th century.
17) Stirrups
Pair of Chilean wooden pyramid-shaped stirrups with an embossed design of a female figure holding a staff.
18) Pin Cushions
These miniature seal skin slippers used as pin cushions are from 1989 by Eskimoans from King Island, Alaska.
