Antique Indian Silver Shoes

Chased Silver Wedding or Dowry Shoes

This pair of chased solid silver shoes each with a heel and an applied ‘bow’ was made not for decorative purposes but to be worn, particularly for important public functions, perhaps for a wedding. Accordingly, wear is evident, most particularly on the soles. They might also have comprised part of a dowry.

The chasing on the shoes emulates the patterns seen on velvet shoes embroidered with

zardozi work.  Zardozi work involved raised gold embroidery being added to velvet, and probably was introduced by the Portuguese. Many Indian royal houses commissioned zardozi embroiderers to embellish jackets, shoes, umbrellas and other articles with this work that were to be worn and used in the court. The zardozi embroiderers typically were Muslim men.

Two examples of pairs of Indian silver shoes are illustrated in Jain-Neubauer (2000, p.108-9) although the pair here is more elaborate and are more in the form of a shoe than a slipper. Jain-Neubauer comments that such shoes often became heirlooms passed sown successive family members. A repoussed silver pair of slippers that Jain-Neubauer shows is attributed to Patiala, circa 1830.

Overall, this is a rare and intriguing item, in excellent condition. They have a good weight for their size, being made from thick silver sheet.

Jain-Neubauer, J., Feet & Footwear in Indian Culture, Bata Shoe Museum/Mapin, 2000; Arts of India: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Philip Wilson Publishers, 2001; & Allen, C., Maharajas: Resonance from the Past, Mercury Books, 2005.