This pair of beaded slippers is one of the earliest designs of footwear. It is known as the ‘Kasut tongkang’ or bumboat slipper as it looks like the bumboats that once used the Singapore River. The main decorative designs of floral patterns are created from metallic thread embroidery. The motifs are raised in high relief and to create this effect, thin strips of cardboard are cut out and pasted onto the parts of the outlines intended to be highlighted. The designs are then embroidered with gold threads using the long and short stitch, the alternating stitch or the overlapping stitch. These slippers were usually with the earliest form of nyonya attire, the ‘baju panjang’. They were not very comfortable as the shallow front of the shoe could not fully cover the wearers’ feet.
