Title
Unsewn slipper faces
Year/Period
early 20th century
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 25.3 x 18.0 cm
Accession No.
2018-01333
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Cynthia, Larry, Celia, Carol and Lawrence Chia, in memory of their parents Chia Teck Loke and Ong Siew Choo.
This shoe template is made of red velvet, with gold and silver embroidery covering most of the slipper face as decoration. The circular shape of the decoration indicates that the final product was meant to be a close-toed slipper. The slipper faces would have been sent to Chinese shoemakers to be cut out from the frame and made into the final product. This object belonged to Wee Bee Neo, a prominent Sang Khek Umm or mistress of wedding ceremonies. As a wedding specialist, she was in charge of the bride’s hair and jewellery, and guiding the young lady through the proper rituals.
