Woman’s Mother-of-Pearl & Bone Inlaid Wooden Stilted Clogs (Qabqab)

This pair of woman’s clogs (qabqab or nalin) is most probably from Ottoman Turkey or possibly from elsewhere in the Ottoman empire.

Each comprises two high platforms, a sole, and the original raised upper strap that is covered in embroidered green silk.

Each is carved from wood (possibly olive wood) and inset with numerous bone and mother-of-pearl slithers arrayed in geometric patterns. This decoration is across all exposed wooden surfaces. It s unusually profuse (compare, for example with a lower pair in the British Museum – see the image below.)

Such clogs were designed for a wealthy woman so that when worn she would be elevated above a wet and dirty floor. Walking, however, required the assistance of an attendant, and the higher the clog, then the more attendants who would be needed, so particularly high clogs – such as those here, which must be among the highest available – became status symbols. Their Arabic name –qabqab – derives from the sound they made when they were being used.

The pair here is in very good condition. There are no losses to the bone and mother-of-pearl inlay. The silk covering to the straps is frayed however, as might be expected.

 

A related pair of qabqab displayed in the British Museum.