Take a peek into our 14,000+ collection with our blog series, From the Vault! Every other week, we’re sharing interesting stories about one of our artefacts. What is the provenance of this pair? When did they enter the BSM collection? This pair of moccasins was one of four made by Kadohadacho maker Sun-wit Sturm née […]
Nude
At the Bata Shoe Museum, we often use footwear to explore histories of larger cultural concepts such as gender, capitalism, sex, colonialism and race. Often, these complicated stories are not obvious from just looking at the shoes themselves – it is through careful research on the history of the shoes and the contexts in which […]
From the Vault: Turkmen Riding Shoes
Take a peek into our 14,000+ collection with our blog series, From the Vault! Every other week, we’re sharing interesting stories about one of our artefacts. What is the provenance of this pair? When did they enter the BSM collection? This pair of riding shoes was collected in 1985 the city Andkhoy in North Central […]
Fish Skin Footwear
The BSM has footwear made from a variety of materials from diverse peoples around the world. For many of the people living in coastal and riverine communities, locally caught fish is part of their diet. The skin of these fish, referred to as fish leather or fish skin textile, was sometimes used for clothing, including […]
A Closer Look at Clogs
By Creative Director & Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack We sat down with BSM Creative Director & Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack to ask her a couple of questions about clogs! To begin, we asked Semmelhack why there is a common thread of wooden footwear in so many diverse cultures. She explained that with the abundance of […]
From the Vault: 18th century shoe buckle
Take a peek into our 14,000+ collection with our blog series, From the Vault! Every other week, we’re sharing interesting stories about one of our artefacts. What is the provenance of this pair? When did they enter the BSM collection? This single buckle maybe French and dates to the 1730s. They were acquired by the […]
Fading Away: The Challenge of Preserving Artefacts for the Future
I thought I’d share some photographs with examples of how significantly textile dyes can change over time. In some instances, the original colour can only be discerned when an area of the shoe, not exposed to light, is examined. These shoes were purchased at auction in 1988; Belgian or French, 1710 – 1730. You can […]
From the Vault: A:shiwi (Zuni) Wedding Boots
Take a peek into our 14,000+ collection with our blog series, From the Vault! Every other week, we’re sharing interesting stories about one of our artefacts. What is the provenance of this pair? When did they enter the BSM collection? This pair of A:shiwi (Zuni) women’s wedding boots entered the collection in 1980 and was […]
Socks: Between You and Your Shoes
By Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack Here in Canada the time of year has arrived when we add something to our wardrobes which have been absent for some months – socks! What is cosier than slipping into a pair of hand-knit socks. But socks are not just for warmth – for thousands of years, people around […]
Boots & Blades: The Research Continues
Manufactured by Douglas Rogers & Company in Norwich, Connecticut, this is a rarely seen example of a style emerging in the mid-19th century. We have three pairs that are of similar style. Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum. Image © 2021 Bata Shoe Museum. As we continue to work on the content and artefact selection […]