Description:
Pair of women's pumps, or shoes with no adjustable fastening, made of two-toned silk uppers. The pointed toe, dip of the throat at the sides, and extremely flat spring heel, are all fashionable characteristics of women's shoes dating to the late 1790s and early 1800s. While both the origin and original wearer of this pair is not known, a slightly earlier single leather shoe found in the Munn-Williams House in Deerfield (2014.804.1) suggests a local interest in this very early Neoclassical style of footwear. No label exists in this pair, but they were professionally made, either domestically (Lynn or Haverhill, Massachusetts were both important, early women's shoe-making centers of New England) or else imported from England. The front part of the shoe is decorated with a black satin weave silk, The quarters are covered in a blueish (now gray) twill weave silk. The throat and side seams are edged with a black grosgrain silk ribbon. The shoe is lined with a plain weave linen, and a sock lining. The sole has the suggestion of a separate heel (an incised line) and is made as a spring heel, with the outer heel edge slightly separated. At the turn of the 19th century, fashionable women's narrow, diaphenous gowns were complimented by shoes such as these, which suggested Eastern and also Grecian styles with their pointed toe and absence of heel, respectively.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2015.13 |
