Pair of doll’s shoes dated to c.1700 – £8200 at C&T.
Fashioned in kid leather, green and yellow silk and metallic thread, they measure just 6cm across.
In the early 18th century, fashion dolls (usually made of wood and gesso) were less playthings and more mannequins. The Victoria and Albert Museum owns a similar pair of shoes made for a doll, known as Lady Clapham, that is thought to have belonged to the Cockerell family, descendants of the diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703).
Lady Clapham, wearing the outfit of a wealthy woman in the 1690s, shows relatively little sign of use which suggests that she was admired by adults rather than played with by children.
C&T believed its pair were the first of this date to be offered for sale at auction. Estimated at £3000-4000, they sold at £8200.
