Pump, 1873
Made by J. A. Petit, Paris
Leather, silk, linen, metallic threads
Technical Glossary
Made by J. A. Petit, Paris
Leather, silk, linen, metallic threads
L. 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Stewart Waller, 1950 (C.I.50.12.1a,b)
In the first half of the nineteenth century, women's shoes and boots with flat soles were fashionable, but mules and slippers with heels had returned as a popular style by the 1870s. Embroidery, beading, ribbon- and canvas work are techniques that frequently appear on surviving shoes from this period. The rich colors of this exquisite French example attest to the widespread use of aniline dyes by the second half of the nineteenth century.
