Pair of Sandals in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2013

Pair of Sandals

Date: 4th–7th century

Geography: Made in Kharga Oasis, Byzantine Egypt

Culture: Coptic

Medium: Palm leaf with the inner sole made of strips, the lower sole in basket weave, and the straps plaited

Dimensions: Overall: 1 5/8 x 2 1/16 x 5 3/8in. (4.2 x 5.3 x 13.6cm) a: 1 5/8 x 2 1/16 x 5 3/8in. (4.2 x 5.3 x 13.6cm) b: 1 9/16 x 2 1/16 x 5 3/16in. (4 x 5.3 x 13.2cm)

Classification: Miscellaneous

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1931

Accession Number: 31.8.28a, b


Label:

This well-made pair of palm-leaf sandals for an infant is similar in style (with a thong emerging between the big and second toes and an ankle strap) to forty-one single sandals and two pairs found at Kellis (modern Ismant al-Kharab) in Dakhla Oasis, though the Museum’s pair has pointed rather than square toes. Palm footwear was traditional in Egypt, and palm-leaf soles, such as those seen here, are frequently seen on children’s and smaller-sized adult sandals.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/474201