Title
Pair of slipper faces
Year/Period
20th century
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 23.5 x 19.2 cm
Accession No.
2024-00042
Collection of
Each slipper face is decorated with butterflies arranged in a grid. Beads and other needlework supplies could be purchased from the itinerant haberdasher, the "jarong man", who travelled from house to house hawking his wares, or from specialised shops. Slipper faces were often sewn at home before they were sent to the shoemakers to be made up into slippers. This pair belonged to Alice Choo (1926-2019) and might have been made by her. Choo was taught to bead and embroider at home. Known as "kasot manek" in Baba Malay, beaded slippers grew in popularity in the 1920s, replacing earlier embroidered slippers.
