Pair of Ankle Shoes

During the nineteenth century, Ottoman fashion increasingly followed European conventions. For example, shoes for women were made of the same fabric and embroidered with the same designs as the dress so that the two would match; the two were conceived as a set.

This pair of ankle shoes was probably intended to match a type of bindalli wedding dress, which became fashionable in the second half of the nineteenth century. Made of a silk velvet, the shoes are densely covered with metallic overall embroidery in relief. The term bindalli (bindallı in Turkish) means "a thousand branches," and refers to the overall floral decoration made of metallic embroidery. Elaborate designs of leaves and flowers, such as tulips are applied in a couched technique, called dival, using gold and silver metal thread densely wrapped around shaped cardboards that creates a sculptural surface design, as if the bride was covered with glittery flowers and leaves. This pair is particularly luxurious: even the wooden heels are fully covered by dival embroidered velvet. The shape of such ankle shoes with their curved low heel and the use of woolen elastic panels on the sides, indicate European influence on Ottoman women’s shoe construction. The leather soles, which were probably imported, are each marked with the number 40, most likely to indicate size, and the twill tape applied to the front and back of the shoes to easily pull on the shoes, are also reminiscent of European techniques of shoemaking.