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Shoe

1697
Not on view
With its square toe, stacked heel, and large bow, this stylish shoe bears the date 1697 and the initials DM, suggesting that it may have been a personalized present. From the late seventeenth-century onwards, miniature slippers and shoes of various models were created in different Delft potteries, often in pairs and following the latest fashions. Given the number that has survived, they appear to have been rather popular. In Dutch genre paintings, discarded shoes are believed to suggest loose morals or sexual promiscuity. The mild erotic innuendo might have made this purely decorative object an amusing gift to a lover or spouse.
The bow on this example was broken and has been reconstructed based on the shape and dimensions of a very similar delftware shoe in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shoe
  • Date: 1697
  • Culture: Dutch, Delft
  • Medium: Tin-glazed earthenware (Delftware)
  • Dimensions: Overall: 2 3/4 × 5 in. (7 × 12.7 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Pottery
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell S. Carter, 1938
  • Object Number: 38.73.13
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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