9. On the 9th Day of Christmas...

Strike up the band! Put on your dancing shoes and take your partners, please. These shoes which belonged to Empress Eugénie do not have heels and are made of satin. The dancing pumps have thin soles, square toes with silk ribbon pompoms and silk ribbon ties and are lined with white kid. They were made by Viault-Esté in 17 Rue de la Paix, in Paris and - by huge coincidence – also the premises of portrait painter Eugène Fayen who painted the picture of John Bowes holding a shotgun and surrounded by game. Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, was a contemporary of Joséphine Bowes. It is known that Joséphine’s tastes in collecting and fashion was influenced to some extent by Eugénie’s regal style. Dancing was a major social event for Parisians during the Second Empire. The most prestigious of all were the balls held at the Tuileries Palace by Napoleon and Eugénie. They hosted three or four grand balls with 600 guests a time early in the new year. The Bowes Museum: https://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk Follow us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBowesMuseum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebowesmus... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBowesMuseum