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Unknown Maker, Indian

Sandals

Maker

Unknown Maker, Indian

Culture

Indian

Title

Sandals

Year

1800s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

leather

Dimensions

Length: Sole 27.9 cm (11 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Lyra Brown Nickerson

Object Number

16.203

Type

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 14: Shadows

The RISD Museum’s fourteenth issue of Manual shines a light on the shadow, centering the black body as a site of possibility, liberatory self-awareness, radical non-conformity, and joyful defiance. This issue serves as a companion to the exhibition Defying the Shadow.

Manual 14: Shadows opens with an excerpt on the shadow from W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk, followed by an introduction by Dr. Anita N. Bateman, who elucidates: “Operating in the shadow comes with a legacy of resistance, both in spiritual and ideological forms.”

Exhibition History

It Comes in Many Forms
Islamic Art from the Collection
Oct 23, 2020 – Dec 18, 2021

Label copy

These three sandals feature leatherwork from opposite sides of the Indian Ocean. They share stacked leather panels and straps made of knotted cords, with a linear design running from near the heels to each of the toes. These design similarities potentially document artistic exchange between East African and South Asian Muslims.

Old museum records claim the Nubian shoe belonged to a Dervish-a derogatory term used to describe a Muslim. Notes also suggest the shoe’s owner died in northeastern Africa in a battle between Mahdist Nubian forces and the Anglo-Egyptian army. The Nubian shoe is greatly dulled by heavy wear, particularly compared to the Indian pair. [see also 79.077.16]

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Indian
Sandals, 1800s
Leather
Length: Sole 27.9 cm (11 inches)
Bequest of Lyra Brown Nickerson 16.203

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