Chased silver wedding shoes

Description

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. They may also have comprised part of a dowry. Such shoes often became heirlooms passed down successive family members.

The chiselling imitates the pattern of “zardozi” embroidery. “Zardozi” is a type of heavy and elaborate metal embroidery, often with gold and silver threads, on velvet, silk or satin fabric, which was probably 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.