Old Flip Flops

About 12 1/2" long.Any suggestions on origin and age? Do people collect such things?
Thanks

 

Maybe Mexican or Peruvian?

I don't know if it's changed, but it used to be that some eBay sellers made good money selling used, um, smelly, shoes to foot fetishists.

I have used shoes I could have sold, but could never bring myself to do it.

 

Yuk, indeed.

 

The must have belonged to a big foot. The front is about 6 1/2" at the widest.
Seems like they've been mounted for a long time on that wooden plaque as the nails are old style square cut. So, someone was into foot fetishism long time ago

 

Now that's odd... I didn't realize they were mounted. Some strange things in this world....

 

Maybe they were important to the person who mounted them, like belonged to his/her grandfather or something.
By the way, googling " antique flip flops" shows nothing like those. Maybe I should use other keywords?

 

Maybe try "sandals" rather than "flip flops"?

 

I believe they may be something important......but still gross LOL. They seem to be sewn together with Sinew. The red and turquoise color geometric design would be time consuming to do. But I know absolutely NOTHING about this kind of thing, and are the " strings" hanging off the top leather too?

 

Same with sandals. Seems like nobody collects such

 

Now that I look at the stiching on the over the foot straps.....they look machine done. too uniform...maybe not as old as I first suspected.

 

Here's what I found (magic Google fingers again today, LOL).

Wide Hausa thong sandals from West Africa are dyed with natural pigments. This pair is circa 1965.
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/flip-flops-in-the-office-tragedy-or-triumph/
Non-European Shoes
Sandals, Hausa, Niger West Africa
http://www.ledermuseum.de/DLM/inhalt_e/sch_2_e.html
Google Images African Hausa sandals
https://www.google.com/#q=african+hausa+sandals
.

 

Laura, looks like you got it.

Are men in that region very tall and/or broad?

 

Thanks a mil. You rock.
Not finding anything sold or for sale.

 

Poking around the internet, it looks like they made them long and wide for easier footing in the sandy desert terrain. Sort like snow shoes for sand.

I haven't found anything either. If I do, I'll be back!

I think the round wood piece the sandals are nailed to is the top of a mid-century lazy-susan. Did anyone else notice that? I used to see those everywhere I went junkin', but the supply seems to have dried up the last couple years. I hardly ever see them anymore.

 

Looks maybe like a cheese board?

Perhaps they've all been nailed up displaying stuff!

 

Here's a picture of what these sandals look like with a foot in them (it's a stock photo site, so I hope the link will work and not be blocked).
Detail of tuareg wearing large sandals for easier walking on sand
http://www.agefotostock.com/en/Stock-Images/Rights-Managed/A91-221358

This pair is in the Smithsonian collection.
Collected as Tuareg, these sandals with their decorated soles are very ornate for Tuareg and may have been made by Hausa leatherworkers for the Tuareg market. The basic shape and form of the sandals are typical of those worn and sold in much of West Africa.

Kard, here's a pair in ebay completed listed as Tuareg, but they were probably actually made by a Hausa person. Seller says they were a gift when he worked in Niger, West Africa. They didn't go for much, US $13.95.
African sandals - Tuareg tribe Niger
There are couple pairs listed as Tuareg sandals in active listings.

 

That's not a nail...it's an upholsterers tac.

 

Here is a similar pair.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/African-Tua...e45fd5&pid=100011&rk=2&rkt=10&sd=131500253648