Saudi Arabian Pair of Chased & Inscribed Silver Shoes or Slippers set with Turquoise

This rare pair of shoes or slippers is made of high-grade, solid silver. Each is in the form of an Arabian-style slipper, and has been chased with scrolling tendrils and other vegetal motifs, against a finely worked background. The mid-section of each upper has a plain, vertical band set with five, high-quality, oval turquoise cabochons probably traded into the Arabian Peninsula from Iran (Persia).

The sole of each shoe is lightly engraved in Arabic with what is likely to say ‘the work of Haji Mohamed Haduqi(?)’ and dated 1320 AH which approximates to 1902 AD.

It is unusual to have such an inscription on the sole of a shoe in Arab culture. The inscriptions are however on the tip of the sole which turns up and so not in contact with the ground.

The use of turquoise in Saudi Arabian jewellery is not unusual and something of a signifier that it is from Saudi Arabia rather than say Oman or Yemen.

Walking in these slippers would be difficult and so it is likely that they would have been worn by a bride from a wealthy Arabian family at her wedding when seated and on display to invited wedding guests.

The pair is in excellent condition. The two are rare, unusual and highly decorative. They were collected in the 1970s by an English woman then resident in Saudi Arabia.