Title
Slippers
Year/Period
Early 20th century
Region
Straits Settlements
Object Type
Technique
Dimension
Unknown Type: Please refer to parts
Accession No.
2005-01439
Collection of
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 decorative motifs of flowers are created using glass ‘seed beads’ threaded onto the velvet fabric. Metallic thread embroidery is also used to create the other designs on the slipper face. 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.
