Medium: Leather and suede

Date: c.1940

Country: Brazil

Credit: Gift of Mrs. Berta Rudofsky

These sandals are reminiscent of chopines, a style of platform shoe worn in Europe from the 14th to the mid-17th centuries. This design, measuring nearly five inches tall, is more novel than it is functional. Real chopines, however, were intended to raise their wearers above the dust and mud of city streets—and they could reach up to twenty inches in height.

Object Number: 92.86.17