Sock made of human hair on display at Bata Museum

TORONTO - The Bata Shoe Museum here, which has rare items from the Nizam of Hyderabad, opened a unique exhibition ‘Socks: Between You and Your Shoes’ to give a peep into “the least researched items of dress”.

On display are rare socks, including a 13th century sock made of human hair, linen socks worn by King Charles I in the 17th century, a pair worn by Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on St. Helena in the early 1800s and silk stockings worn by Queen Victoria.

The exhibition that opened Wednesday also has a replica of the footwear and sock once worn by the Otzi man 5,300 years ago.

“For thousands of years, people around the world have sought to separate themselves from their shoes with all manner of socks. Some are humble, some are splendid but all were created to make us more comfortable as we walk through life,” said museum curator Elizabeth Semmelhack at the opening.

Situated at the headquarters of the Bata Shoe Company here, this unique museum exhibits 10,000 items tracing the 4,500-year-old history of shoe wearing.

The collection includes breath-taking items such as the diamond-studded slippers of the Nizam of Hyderabad, worth $160,000.

Belonging to Nizam Sikandar Jah, the slippers from the 1790s are rated as one of the most expensive shoes ever made in the world.

The glittering pair of slippers are embedded with rubies and diamonds. It was stolen in 2006 and later recovered from a church after an anonymous call.

Picasso’s pony-skin boots are also here.

India was one of the first countries chosen for expansion by the 116-year-old company.

Bata owner Thomas Bata, who died in 2008, would often joke that Indians thought it is an Indian company because of its presence in India since 1931.