Memory Sculpture in the Form of a High Buttoned Shoe

A boot-shaped sculpture covered in gilded trinkets, including buttons, coins, medals, tiny animal figures, a shell, and small tools. The objects are pressed into a golden dough-like surface against a black background, creating a dense, mosaic-like pattern.

Artist

Unidentified

Date

early 20th century

Medium

Masonite with composition dough embedded with metal, plastic, glass, and wood objects, gilded with gold paint

Source

Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Size

2381 × 3000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian American Art Museum