Ballet shoe worn by Marie Taglioni
Ballet Shoe
ca.1842 (made)
ca.1842 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The shoe was worn by the great Romantic Ballerina Marie Taglioni at a private function in St Petersburg in 1842 when she danced before the Empress of Russia. According to the inscription, Taglioni performed two Spanish dances, a Herta and a Cachucha, dances more associated with her rival Fanny Elssler.
Taglioni gave the shoe to Lady Selina Bidwell, who may have been one of the dancer's pupils when she taught ballet in London in the 1870s. Ballet shoes from the mid 19th century are rare and this, associated as it is with Taglioni and the development of pointe work, is an important artefact in the history of ballet shoe construction. It is unblocked and the darning under the toe and up the sides would have been the only extra support for pointe work at this period.
Taglioni gave the shoe to Lady Selina Bidwell, who may have been one of the dancer's pupils when she taught ballet in London in the 1870s. Ballet shoes from the mid 19th century are rare and this, associated as it is with Taglioni and the development of pointe work, is an important artefact in the history of ballet shoe construction. It is unblocked and the darning under the toe and up the sides would have been the only extra support for pointe work at this period.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Ballet shoe worn by Marie Taglioni (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Satin, silk, cotton and leather, with ink inscription |
| Brief description | Ballet shoe worn by Marie Taglioni. Black satin edged with white silk and lined in white kid and white cotton. Inscribed on the sole. |
| Physical description | Black satin ballet shoe, the black satin crossed on the upper vamp with narrow black ribbon, the upper edge bound in white silk. It is lined with white kid and white cotton and has a leather sole. The shoe is unblocked, in modern terms, the only stiffening provided by overdarning beneath the toes and 1.5cm up the side. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | "Souvenir à / Lady Selina Bidwell / de Marie Taglioni / London octobre 1877 St Petersbourg / 1er mars 1842. Souliers avec / lesquels j'ai danse ma soirée / d'adieu chez L'Imperatrice au / Palais d'Anichkoff, dans un pas / espagnol de Herta et la Cachucha / M Taglioni" (Handwritten on the sole by Marie Taglioni, pen and ink.) |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest |
| Object history | The shoe was given by Marie Taglioni to Lady Selina Bidwell, who may have been one of Taglioni's pupils when she was teaching dance in London in the 1870s. It later became part of the London Archives of the Dance. The Archives never achieved an independent home and some of the collection was stored with the dance historian Cyril Beaumont, becoming inextricably mixed with his own collection and coming to the Museum as part of the Cyril Beaumont Bequest. |
| Summary | The shoe was worn by the great Romantic Ballerina Marie Taglioni at a private function in St Petersburg in 1842 when she danced before the Empress of Russia. According to the inscription, Taglioni performed two Spanish dances, a Herta and a Cachucha, dances more associated with her rival Fanny Elssler. Taglioni gave the shoe to Lady Selina Bidwell, who may have been one of the dancer's pupils when she taught ballet in London in the 1870s. Ballet shoes from the mid 19th century are rare and this, associated as it is with Taglioni and the development of pointe work, is an important artefact in the history of ballet shoe construction. It is unblocked and the darning under the toe and up the sides would have been the only extra support for pointe work at this period. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.2746-1986 |
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| Record created | February 7, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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