Life and sole: footwear from the Islamic world

Small exhibition at the British Museum looking at shoes from the Islamic World examining the idea that shoes reflect identity, profession, status and lifestyle. 

There was a useful map showing the extent of the area the shoes came from with pictures of the distinctive styles from each place. I loved a quote from a North African proverb “Luxury begins the day a man starts wearing shoes.”

There were some lovely pieces in this exhibition such as a pair of red tapestry boots from Morocco and gold paisley loafers from Pakistan but I didn’t feel any sense of narrative just a collection of interesting pieces.

I’d often noticed that shoes from these areas of the world seem to have flattened backs to them and this show pointed out it’s so they can be slipped off easily when entering a home or the mosque. Obvious really when you think about it.

I loved the fact there were two pairs of shoes owned and worn by some of the curators, a pair of loafers hand made in Aleppo and a pair of child’s Turkish slippers! It was also a nice touch to include a shoe shine box.

Closes on 15 May 2016.

 

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