Napoleon Bonaparte's sister's slippers found

[Still Waters]

A pair of slippers believed to have once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte's sister have been uncovered in Aberdeen.

Louise Wilkie, of the University of Aberdeen's museum team, was tasked with cleaning and sorting through a collection.

Her research led her to link the owner of the slippers and the famous French military leader's sister Princess Pauline Borghese.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...etland-21336111

[moonshadow60]

My; what tiny feet she had. Isn't Pauline the sister who posed nude for a statue that her older brother Joseph kept in his house in New Jersey and so admired? Strange family. His guests must have been so embarrassed for him.

[wimfloppp]

My slippers only seem to last a year or two.

[Eldorado]

The world is a better place for knowing about these slippers.

[schizoidwoman]

My; what tiny feet she had. Isn't Pauline the sister who posed nude for a statue that her older brother Joseph kept in his house in New Jersey and so admired? Strange family. His guests must have been so embarrassed for him.

Yes, she posed as Venus for Canova. Pauline was a bit of a character and insisted that she pose nude which was not the original brief for the sculpture.

In my capacity of 18th century nut, I am hugely excited by this discovery, I jabbered about it to my husband at great length. Pauline was wonderfully scandalous in her day, I'm sure she would enjoy being back in the news!

[moonshadow60]

The whole family was fascinating and appears to have been populated with characters. That slipper is amazingly preserved.

[No Censorship]

Does anyone know her height? Her slippers remind one of Chinese women's footwear from the past, when binding feet was in fashion. She was raised in poverty, so it's possible that her growth was slowed or stopped in some way. She might be called a little person (midget in the past) if she was alive today.