The Bata Shoe Museum (BSM) often lends artefacts to other museums for their exhibitions. Recently, one of our borrowers had such a successful exhibition that the exhibition went on tour, and our artefacts went along for the ride. They are currently on view at the McCord Museum in Montreal until September 26, 2021. The BSM […]
Best Foot Forward: Dressing for a Special Day
These shoes were worn by Mary Evelyn Nichol (nee Griffin) to her wedding on September 18, 1929. In 1997 her daughter donated them to the BSM along with the wedding dress and other accessories worn for this very special occasion. These cream silk satin pumps have a high heel and feature a beaded butterfly attached […]
Care In Handling: Artefact Rotation at the National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (in foreground, Maman by Louise Bourgeois). Photo: Sam valadi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa has dedicated one very large display case in their exhibition Canadian and Indigenous Galleries to works from the Bata Shoe Museum collection since the gallery opened in 2017. […]
From the Vault: Jox Cross Country Sample Sneaker
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 sample sneaker (c. 1978), the Jox Cross Country, was donated to the museum by […]
Japanese Footgear
In 1998 the BSM was contacted by the Japanese Footwear Museum (JFM), located in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. They wanted to establish a relationship to exchange footwear for exhibitions. The JFM borrowed 25 pairs of shoes ranging from the 1670s to the 1860s, including sports figures and notable people, for its exhibition Fascinating Shoes. In […]
Detailed Photography for the Creation of a Replica
This pair of miniature replica court shoes were created by Sonia Krause in 2021. On May 19, 2021 the Bata Shoe Museum’s online Salon Series featured Sonia Krause, a doll maker specializing in 17th to 19th century dolls. The evening’s presentation Queens of Fashion: A Conversation about 18th Century Dolls with Sonia Krause was the […]
From the Vault: Roger Vivier Pullovers
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 object? When did they enter the BSM collection? This is a ‘pullover’ of Roger Vivier’s design, The Rocket, and was created for Yves […]
Preparing for an Outgoing Loan: Part II
A previous conservation blog (April 18, 2021) discussed cleaning beadwork and infilling holes in the textile components on a pair of Tlingit moccasins. These Innu moccasins are also part of the next loan to the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). The damage on this particular pair was more significant: both collars were missing. Replacing them […]
From the Vault: The New Kamiks
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 work on paper titled The New Kamiks by Mayoreak Ashoona was acquired by the […]
The Beauty of Beads
By Elizabeth Semmelhack, Senior Curator Small, luminous and colourful, beads have been used to decorate footwear around the world for centuries. Historically beads have been crafted from a wide variety of natural sources such as pearls but even in ancient times some of the most desirable beads were made of glass. From the very beginning […]