Читать книгу The Art of the Shoe - Marie-Josèphe Bossan - Страница 5

From the first great civilizations flourishing in Mesopotamia and Egypt in the 4th millennium BC arose the three basic types of footwear: the shoe, the boot, and the sandal. An archeological team excavating a temple in the city of Brak (Syria) in 1938 unearthed a clay shoe with a raised toe. Dating over 3,000 years before the birth of Christ, it proves that this city shared features with the Sumerian civilization of Ur in Mesopotamia: raised-tipped shoes are depicted on Mesopotamian seals of the Akkadian era around 2600 BC. Distinguished from Syrian models by a much higher tip and embellished with a pompom, in Mesopotamia this type of shoe became the royal footwear of the king. The raised-toe form is attributable to the rugged terrain of the mountain conquerors that introduced it. After its adoption by the Akkadian kingdom, the form spread to Asia Minor where the Hittites made it a part of their national costume. It is frequently depicted in low-reliefs, such as the Yazilikaya sanctuary carvings dating to 1275 BC. Seafaring Phoenicians helped spread the pointed shoe to Cyprus, Mycenae, and Crete, where it appears on palace frescoes depicting royal games and ceremonies. Cretans are also depicted wearing raised-tipped ankle boots in the painted decorations of Rekhmire’s tomb (Egypt 18th dynasty, 1580–1558 BC), indicating contact between Crete and Egypt during this era. The Mesopotamian empire of Assyria dominated the ancient east from the 9th to the 7th century BC and erected monuments whose sculptures depict the sandal and the boot. Their sandal is a simplified shoe composed of a sole and straps. Their boot is tall, covering the leg; a type of footwear associated with horsemen. From the middle of the 6th century to the end of the 4th century BC, the Persian dynasty, founded by Cyrus the Great II around 550 BC, gradually established a homogeneous culture in the ancient east. Processional bas-reliefs carved by sculptors of the Achaemenidian kings offer a documentary record of the period’s costume and footwear.

5. Cylindrical seal and its stamp. Akkad Dynasty, Mesopotamia, around 2340–2200 BC. Height: 3.6 cm. Louvre Museum, Paris.

6. “Lion put to death by the King,” low-relief from the Palace of Assurbanipal at Nineveh, 638–630 BC, British Museum, London.

In addition to images of boots, there are shoes made of supple materials and of leather shown completely covering the foot and closing at the ankle with laces. For a deeper understanding of how the shoe evolved from its origins to the present day, it is important to look at ancient civilizations in their historical context. Additionally, an analysis of the primary biblical texts will shed new light on the subject and give greater relevance to the history of the shoe.

7. Sandals maker, fresco relief. 18th Dynasty, 1567–1320 BC. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.