European tanned hide, brown; embroidery: ivory cotton or wool thread; grey cotton or wool thread; grey wool fabric.

These moccasins are unusual in design; they seem to be made of four pieces: one piece that fits over the toes and forms the tongue, two pieces that join at the heel and meet the front piece ativory wool covered side seams, and a fourth piece that is the sole. The heel seam is covered three quarters of the way down by horizontal stitches of ivory wool. Lines of grey wool stitching on either side of seam in lower third. The seams on the sides of the moccasins that join the front piece and two back pieces are also covered in horizontal stitches of ivory wool.

There are two wide slashes over the toe area and the side pieces are cut to form two straps that may have been designed for a buckle. There are no marks to suggest a buckle was used.

The soles of the shoes are not scuffed, if they were worn, it was very lightly.

This style of construction gives a fitted moccasin with no sign of tucks or puckers. The moccasins are made forleft and right feet, as is written on the sole of each moccasin, however the soles are the same for both feet as is the overall shape. However, the two slashes over the vamp or upper and the shape of the upper seems to reflect the longer big toe, on the inner side of the shoe.

There is a circle of stitching to reinforce the join of the side seams.

Zigzag lines in the center over the toe, floral motifs over toes, on tongue, and on sides. There is a circle embroidered on the upper of one moccasins, at the base of what looks like a fleur de lis.

On the sole of one moccasin in written in ink: 'Pour le pied droit,' (For the right foot) while on the other is written 'pour le pied Gauche' (For the left foot).

The style of slashes and broad toes suggests that these moccasins reflect a sixteenth century style, however the history of shoes suggests that left and right shoes were an innovation of the nineteenth century.AD.

These moccasins appear in the 1792 inventory of the Bibliothèque municipale de Versailles. Autumn Epple estimates they date between 1700 and 1780.

This work came originally from the collection of the Bibliothèque Municipale de Versailles, which includes the collection of Charles Phillipe Fayolle, begun in the 1750s. He collected up to the time of the French Revolution and continued to collect until his death in 1804. His collection became part of the Bibliothèque Municipale de Versailles at the time of the French Revolution, 1792. Material continued to be added to this collection in the nineteenth century. The collection was moved to the Musée de l’Homme (Amérique) and from there to the Musée du quai Branly. Three inventories were done of the Fayolle collection, one in 1792 when it was seized at the time of the Revolution, one in 1806 just before the collection went to the Bibliothèque municipale de Versailles, and a third in 1869 just before the collection went into the Musée d'ethnographie du Trocadéro. These inventories can be helpful in dating some of the works from this collection. Some of the works in this collection can thus be dated to before 1792, while others were collected in the nineteenth century.A.deS.

Unknown artist, children's moccasins. Currently in the Musée du quai Branly, 71.1934.33.214. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip; GRASAC item id 1312.

This record was created by Anne de Stecher during an RAship for Prof. Ruth Phillips, from fieldtrip research conducted through a SSHRC award.

This record will be open access on the completion of Anne de Stecher's dissertation, 2011.