Lovely Little Viking Shoes, 9th-10th C.

I have been meaning to make a pair of viking shoes for the muse, the inspiration closest to my heart, Miss Sarah L. I also have the good fortune to present these in context, on the feet of the recipient as well! I dare say that they make the photo that much more compelling. In any event, these are out of Goubitz, 9th-10th C., from Vlaardingen. This type of decoration was very common on several examples, and there is a similar piece from Gdansk, Poland. This particular piece even had some remnant threads remaining in the leather.

The extant piece is actually a fragment, but with sufficient detail to render a model for us.
Continue reading Lovely Little Viking Shoes, 9th-10th C.

Europe Part I: London, Oxford, Northampton

I’m a bit behind on posting about my recent travels to Europe, but I hope that the scope and content of this do end up making up for it. My original plan was to visit four museums, both the V&A and Museum of London, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and the Northampton Museum. Unfortunately, the MoL was unable to accommodate my visit due to a last minute project, but I still was able to get in quite a bit of work. Unfortunately, I’m unable to post/publish my photos of the work specifically, as I had promised that I would not publish them in any real way, but I don’t think that the Ashmolean will object to me posting a selfie of myself with a shoe that I’d been lusting to see for many years. =) This is the 1600s shoe after which the “Stratfords” were designed.

Continue reading Europe Part I: London, Oxford, Northampton