LOT 0100

Roman Children's Leather Shoe Collection

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

5 1/8 - 6 7/8 in. (150 grams total, 13-17.5 cm).

Comprising: the sole of a carbatina type shoe, formed as two thick layers of leather with a third, thinner layer beneath, slits to the upper face to accept securing straps and punched ornamentation (lines of concentric-ring motifs), underside with a line of domed iron studs to the outer edge and others at he middle of the sole and heel; a soft shoe made from a single piece of leather with pierced triangular tags to the open upper face, the toe and heel sewn so that the seam does not contact the ground; a similar soft shoe with openwork sides resembling arcading, no covering at the toes, heel sewn. [3, No Reserve]

Found City of London, UK.
Acquired from mudlark Steve Brooker in the early 2000s.
Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.

Accompanied by several original handwritten letters regarding the conservation of the shoes.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12093-214631.

Exhibited at Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 14th March-9th June 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.

Cf. van Driel-Murray, C., A late Roman assemblage from Deurne (Netherlands), in Bonner Jahrbücher, 2000, p.296-8, for discussion; Leguilloux, M., Le cuir etla pelletterie à l'époque Romaine, Paris, 2004, pp.109,115,123, for similar types.

In Great Britain, examples of carbatinai dated to the last quarter of the 1st century A.D. have been found in Castleford. Others dated to the 2nd century have been found in London and Bar Hill. Carbatinae were often worn by children: two well-preserved specimens were discovered at the Vindolanda fort, which housed a mixed population of soldiers and their families.