The main-characters of this week’s story are these two fluorescent green plastic sandals from Tanzania. After stumbling upon these on the ethnographic collections’ database, I had a chat with anthropologist and curator at Moesgaard Museum, Thea Skaanes, who collected the shoes during her fieldwork among […]
All posts tagged: Shoes
A shoe update
In the beginning of September, the above shoe was the main character of quite a mystery. The shoe had been found by anthropologist Mette Bovin in the desert where she was conducting fieldwork among the nomadic Wodaabe people. The string at the back of the […]
Putting the shoe on the other foot – or putting experience before beauty
Moesgaard Museum’s ethnographic collections boasts a great number of fantastical footwear from all over the world! Many of these beautiful shoes have been featured in great numbers on ethnographica, and soon even more – more than 230 different pairs of shoes to be exact – […]
Death wearing feathered shoes: Aboriginal khutaitchi
Here is a truly curious pair of shoes. They are so-called khutaitchi shoes, made by a sorcerer or magician of the Central Australian Pitjantjara tribe. In traditional Aboriginal beliefs, there is no such thing as a natural death, which means that there is usually an […]
Free the feet! Swiss wooden sandals
A major Danish newspaper recently released a dress code, warning their employees not to get overly casual in order to survive the unusually warm May, we’ve had. No shorts or tank tops, no dresses above the knee. To us, sun-unaccustomed Danes, who complain when it […]
In other shoes: Indonesian sandals
Here at The Ethnographic Collections, we have the most wonderful collection of shoes. They were collected by Søren Ludvig Tuxen, zoologist, and a bit of a shoe fetishist. Since the beginning of this blog, we have featured a wide selection of his shoes, from the […]
In Other Shoes: Turkish Harem Shoes
Previously, ethnographica.net has showcased shoes from the wonderful shoe collection made by Søren L. Tuxen, zoologist and shoe enthusiast. You can read about him in our previous post here: https://ethnographica.net/2015/04/14/tuxen/ In his collection of almost 250 pairs are shoes and other footwear from all over […]
In Other Shoes – Turkish Slippers
Modern and yet traditional – check out these Turkish Slippers! “Turkish slippers. Given to me on February 8th 1958 by M.E. Hovmand Hansen, who had acquired them in 1934 from a group of Greek sailors on board a steamboat called Pirdus. The slippers are modern. […]
In Other Shoes – Chinese Silk Shoes
Have a look at these beautiful Chinese Silk Shoes! Notice the delicately embroidered birds – they just make me want to fly away. Next stop: China! Who’s in? // Emma Louise Pedersen Photo: © 2007 Photo/Media Department of Moesgaard Museum. Byline portrait: © 2015 Line Beck, lbmfotografi.wix.com
In Other Shoes – Native Ecuadorian Shoes
My first thoughts? I would wear these! Tuxen’s notes on this pair of shoes, from the Latin American country right on the equator, are sparse: Native Ecuadorian shoes. Bought for me in Quito on October 1st 1957 by Dr.Phil. Marie Hammer. Were received by […]
In Other Shoes – Faroese Skølingar
Winter is coming – here’s a Faroese trick to keep you from falling once the ground gets slippery. “Faroese skølingar. Given to me January 6th 1958 by Mrs. Johannesen, Heldörsvik. There is only one. Skølingar are used “on top of” regular shoes, when walking on […]
In Other Shoes – Chinese Lotus Shoes
Sometimes footwear isn’t just footwear. Sometimes it tells the story of much more – traditional gender roles, power structures, and customs of aesthetics. We’ve described the old Chinese tradition of foot binding on the blog before, explaining why the shoes we display from this region […]
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