Slippers Item Number: Cb77 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Pair of heelless slippers; the sole consists of three or more layers of rawhide and leather sewn together as a separate unit. The leather insole and lined upper are attached separately. The upper is cut widely towards a slightly pointed toe. The upper is ornamented in an impressed or tooled design of straight lines, dots and circles forming a set of triangles pointing towards the toe.

History Of Use

Leather goods like these slippers are made widely in the Sub-Sahara of West Africa and are found frequently in Northern Nigeria.

Cultural Context

Worn on the feet.

Specific Techniques

The red dyes used for the leather of these slippers were made from a variety of sorghum (or karan dafi). A watery extract of wood ashes or natron would sit in a bowl for three to four hours; the dyestuff was pulverized in a wooden mortar and mixed with the extract. The tanned hide would be dressed with ground-nut oil or shea butter and then immersed in the mixture for one to two minutes, and then wrung out and shaken. Finally the hide would be rinsed in cold water, which had been acidulated with lime juice and tarmind pulp.