Pair Of Baba-nyonya Leather And Pearl Shoes. China Circa 1900.

This type of leather shoes sewn with pearls were worn by the Chinese living in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore. These Chinese immigrants for centuries are called the Baba Nyonya in China, they are the "Straits Chinese". Over time, they have adapted culturally to the host country while retaining a large part of their original culture. A large colony lives in Singapore, where a museum "Peranakan Museum" is dedicated to this very particular hybrid culture. The soles are made of 2 layers of very thick leather decorated with hollow patterns probably made with a hot iron, the upper of the shoe is in velvet sewn with msoit worn to the weft, a sign of intensive use, no pearl motif is missing. pearl motifs, birds and flowers. The solidity of the work is astonishing, in fact the very worn and patinated leather is still usable and although the velvet Difficult to date precisely, probably 19th century or early 20th century. It is rare to find this type of complete shoes, without any missing parts or restorations. Length approximately 20cm.