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Walk Like an Egyptian. Egyptian Shoes and Scratch Board Art. Marlon Zuniga Loves playing guitar and dancing. Mona Schaffel “Loves shoes and purses”. Loves cooking and growing things. Why Sandals?. Ancient Egyptians went barefoot most of the time but wore sandals.
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Walk Like an Egyptian Egyptian Shoes and Scratch Board Art
Marlon Zuniga Loves playing guitar and dancing Mona Schaffel “Loves shoes and purses” Loves cooking and growing things
AncientEgyptians went barefoot most of the time but wore sandals. The sandals worn by the poor were made of woven papyrus or palm while those worn by the rich were made of leather. Historians are not sure why sandals were suddenly introduced but, beginning at the start of the New Kingdom period of Egyptian history in about 1500B.C.E
Sandals suddenly began to appear on the hieroglyphs depicting scenes of Egyptian life. The ancient Egyptians wore sandals made of palm-leaves and papyrus.
They are sometimes observable on the feet of Egyptian statues and in reliefs, being carried by sandal-bearers. The first King of Egypt, King Narmerwas depicted walking barefoot with his slave bearing sandals behind him. This would suggest footwear was kept for special occasions and the custom was to have sandals carried to the point of destination, before being worn for the occasion.
Originally sandals were made from a footprint in wet sand. Braided papyrus was then moulded into soles and the sandals were attached by palm fibre thongs to keep them on the foot. Once the Egyptians learned to tan hide, sandals were made with a leather sole. Kings and their immediate families were the only Egyptians allowed to wear them. Allowances were made for high dignitaries and priests with the latter designated to wear foot covers made with white papyrus. One reason why priests did not wear leather sandals may have been to prevent them from contacting the hide of a dead animal. Sandals were not worn in temples and other Holy Places.
In Tut-Ankh-amen’s tomb was a magnificent box containing 93 pieces of sandals and slippers. Some were made from gold with beautiful colored glass marquetry. One had a papyrus sole and leather ankle straps etched with a gold ribbon motif. The thongs were composed of plaques topped with enameled gold lotus blossoms. The flexible sole was about ¼” thick. A pair of bark sandals was also found in the tomb with the representation of the Kings enemies etched on the inside of the sole.
In the 6th century (2323 -2152 BCE). By now Egypt was a major trading nation and enjoyed fabulous wealth. High born Egyptian women often adorned their sandals with jewels and precious metal. Later sandals were also made from gazelle skin and became associated with active pursuits such as hunting.
Soldiers wore heavier leather shoes and the custom was to stand on caricatures of the enemy. “You have trodden the impure Gentile under your powerful feet” (Turner Wilcox,1948 p 4). Enemies of Egypt were depicted differently: Hebrews had beards and long hair. Libyans were black figures and Syrians had white cloaks (reported in The Chiropodist, 1927, The Leeds Convention, 1926), and Hittites are depicted unshod. All the more unusual since the Hittites came from the Anatolian highlands and wore shoes with turned up toes..
