Formal ethnographic shoes – from restoration to reproduction

The formal ethnographic shoes described in this article belong to the extensive collection of folk costumes of the Ethnographic Museum, Dubrovnik Museums. They date from the end of the nineteenth century and are the only example of this kind of footwear in the collection. In order to preserve the material form and values of such a unique cultural heritage artefact, this Issue has been approached from two perspectives. First, a detailed conservation-restoration procedure was performed, followed by making their copy, all this in accordance with the approval of the Conservation Department of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia. The conservation and restoration of a multilayered three-dimensional object made of textiles and leather, such as ethnographic shoes in Croatia, is extremely demanding, especially since the region is still understudied.