Francesca Hickin
Head of Department
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Property from a Private West Coast USA Collection
Lot 33*
Two pairs of Etruscan bronze and wood sandals 4
1 December 2020, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£10,000 - £15,000
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Anna Marston
Associate Specialist
Two pairs of Etruscan bronze and wood sandals
Circa 6th Century B.C.
Each with the wood sole in two parts enclosed within sheet bronze held in place by small bronze nails, with iron pins inserted around the outside edge of the bottom of the sole, with four slots on each sole presumably for the attachment of leather straps, the smaller pair preserving a bronze loop and nail for attachment of the leather thong, one sole of the larger pair preserving part of the leather hinge for joining of the two parts, the upper surfaces with depressions conforming to the feet of the ancient owner, 29.5cm long max. (4)
Circa 6th Century B.C.
Each with the wood sole in two parts enclosed within sheet bronze held in place by small bronze nails, with iron pins inserted around the outside edge of the bottom of the sole, with four slots on each sole presumably for the attachment of leather straps, the smaller pair preserving a bronze loop and nail for attachment of the leather thong, one sole of the larger pair preserving part of the leather hinge for joining of the two parts, the upper surfaces with depressions conforming to the feet of the ancient owner, 29.5cm long max. (4)
Footnotes
Provenance:
Private collection, Switzerland, acquired prior to 1965; and thence by descent.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 5-6 December 2001, lot 531.
Private collection, West Coast USA, acquired at the above sale.
The Etruscans were renowned in antiquity for their distinctive footwear. Etruscan sandals such as the above lot have been found in Etruscan tombs dating from the 6th Century onwards. These platform shoes, usually with gilded laces, were coveted by women as far away as Greece. The hinged sole allowed the shoe to make a 'clacking' sound as the wearer walked down cobbled city streets. For more discussion on Etruscan shoes and a parallel see L. Bonfante, Etruscan Life and Afterlife, Detroit, 1986, p. 253, image VIII-31. See also J. M. Turfa & A. B. Brownlee, "What in the World?: Etruscan Sandals: Fancy Footwear from the Sixth Century BC", Expedition: The Magazine of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, 2001, vol. 43, no. 3, p. 48.