Pair of Chopines
ca. 1600 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
These chopines are made of pine-wood. The wood is covered in kid leather with punched decoration and figured silk underlay. This pair are fairly modest. More extreme versions were over 50 cms high. Chopines were based on the shoes worn at Turkish baths. They were first worn by Venetian prostitutes and fashionable Venetian aristocrats then adopted them. The chopine was originally a form of overshoe, which is why it has no back. Later versions could be worn as either overshoes or on their own.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Punched kid leather and carved pine |
| Brief description | Pair of back-less chopines of pine-wood covered with punched kid leather. |
| Physical description | Chopines, very tall backless Venetian overshoes or shoes made of wood covered with punched kid leather. Fragments of coloured silk visible beneath the cut-out pattern of the uppers. The two shoes are not identical, either in decoration or height. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Historical context | These chopines are very typically Italian. Their base are of carved pine, tapering in the middle and flaring at the base to provide greater stability. Most Italian chopines also feature notches on either side. The bases of many chopines, including this pair, are covered in white kid. The uppers are decorated with cutwork in patterns reminiscent of lace from the same period. |
| Summary | These chopines are made of pine-wood. The wood is covered in kid leather with punched decoration and figured silk underlay. This pair are fairly modest. More extreme versions were over 50 cms high. Chopines were based on the shoes worn at Turkish baths. They were first worn by Venetian prostitutes and fashionable Venetian aristocrats then adopted them. The chopine was originally a form of overshoe, which is why it has no back. Later versions could be worn as either overshoes or on their own. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.48&A-1914 |
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| Record created | February 14, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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