Pattens

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pattens and similar elevated soles are common to the dress of numerous regions, be they the Turkish kab-kab, Japanese geta, Korean rain clog, or Venetian chopine. Typically, this type of footwear is utilitarian, and by consequence is often discarded when no longer useable. This surviving pair of pattens features particularly attractive and well executed decorative detailing, which probably helped to secure their preservation. The traditional eight-pointed star is used in many cultures, but is a dominant motif in Norwegian design, representing the sun and founded in pagan beliefs.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art